[One Thousand Characters a Day] Some Solitudes Are Not Lonely <4>

Editor's NoteElizabeth Cady Stanton (1815?1902), an American social activist, is well known as a leading figure in the women's rights movement advocating for women's suffrage. She extensively addressed the legally unfair treatment of men and women and asserted equal rights to property, child custody, employment, and income. The sentence introduced today is taken from her speech Solitude of Self, delivered upon her retirement as the first president of the National Woman Suffrage Association at the age of 77 in 1892. She not only strongly advocated for women's rights but also expressed the necessity for both men and women to fully devote themselves to self-development and become independent individuals. To her, solitude was an 'innate right that no one can replace.' The text contains 1,000 characters.

After the joys of youth have passed, when children reach adulthood, marry, and leave the nest, and the busyness and noise of life subside, and the body, weary from years of labor, takes the old armchair and fireside as places of rest, whether man or woman, the only person to rely on is oneself. If one has kept away from books, paid no attention to important current affairs, or lacked interest in witnessing the completion of the revolution one has seen, dementia will soon set in. The more one develops mental faculties and continues to exercise the mind, the longer one maintains active interest in the surroundings. If a woman who has been socially active for a long time feels responsible for various issues such as laws regulating the education system, rules concerning prisons and incarceration, the home, public buildings, the condition of main roads, commerce, finance, and diplomatic relations?or even some of these?then at least her solitude will be respected and will not be consumed as mere gossip or scandal for amusement.

The greatest reason to open the path for everyone to know all human duties and joys is so that they can develop themselves in that way and use the resources generated therefrom to alleviate the solitude and suffering that inevitably come to everyone someday.

Considering that women experience joys and sorrows in the flow of time and eternity just like men, is it not presumptuous for men to sit on the throne of voting and religion, exercise voting rights on behalf of women, pray in church on their behalf, and monopolize the position of 'high priest' at the family altar?

Personal responsibility cultivates one’s judgment and stimulates conscience. Recognizing self-sovereignty?the right to receive based on individual worth, not artificial achievements gained through inheritance, property, family, or status, and to hold an equal position recognized everywhere?is the most dignified act. Assuming that men and women share the same responsibilities and destinies in life, their preparation for time and eternity must be equal. The claim that women must be protected from terrible storms is a blatant lie.

－ Some Solitudes Are Not Lonely, edited by Zachary Seager, translated by Park Sanho, Influential, 16,500 KRW