Read this excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.When I was eleven years old, two events occurred which changed considerably the current of my life. My only brother, who had just graduated from Union College, came home to die. A young man of great talent and promise, he was the pride of my father's heart. We early felt that this son filled a larger place in our father's affections and future plans than the five daughters together.
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.So, as soon as we were dismissed, I ran down the hill, rushed breathless into [my father’s] office, laid the new Greek Testament, which was my prize, on his table and exclaimed: "There, I got it!" He took up the book, asked me some questions about the class, the teachers, the spectators, and evidently pleased, handed it back to me. Then, while I stood looking and waiting for him to say something which would show that he recognized the equality of the daughter with the son, he kissed me on the forehead and exclaimed, with a sigh, “Ah, you should have been a boy.”
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.[Rev. Simon Hosack] entered fully into the feeling of suffering and sorrow which took possession of me when I discovered that a girl weighed less in the scale of being than a boy, and he praised my determination to prove the contrary.
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.So I decided to study Greek and learn to manage a horse. Having formed this conclusion I fell asleep. My resolutions, unlike many such made at night, did not vanish with the coming light. I arose early and hastened to put them into execution. They were resolutions never to be forgotten—destined to mold my character anew.
According to Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897, which factor from Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s life is most responsible for her determination to show that boys and girls were equally capable?
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.[Rev. Simon Hosack] entered fully into the feeling of suffering and sorrow which took possession of me when I discovered that a girl weighed less in the scale of being than a boy, and he praised my determination to prove the contrary. The old grammar which he had studied in the University of Glasgow was soon in my hands, and the Greek article was learned before breakfast.
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.“My father,” I replied, “prefers boys; he wishes I was one, and I intend to be as near like one as possible. I am going to ride on horseback and study Greek. Will you give me a Greek lesson now, doctor? I want to begin at once.”“Yes, child,” said he, throwing down his hoe, “come into my library and we will begin without delay.”
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.Then and there I resolved that I would not give so much time as heretofore to play, but would study and strive to be at the head of all my classes and thus delight my father's heart. All that day and far into the night I pondered the problem of boyhood. I thought that the chief thing to be done in order to equal boys was to be learned and courageous. So I decided to study Greek and learn to manage a horse. Having formed this conclusion I fell asleep. My resolutions, unlike many such made at night, did not vanish with the coming light. I arose early and hastened to put them into execution. They were resolutions never to be forgotten—destined to mold my character anew.
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.I still recall, too, going into the large darkened parlor to see my brother, and finding the casket, mirrors, and pictures all draped in white, and my father seated by his side, pale and immovable. As he took no notice of me, after standing a long while, I climbed upon his knee, when he mechanically put his arm about me and, with my head resting against his beating heart, we both sat in silence, he thinking of the wreck of all his hopes in the loss of a dear son, and I wondering what could be said or done to fill the void in his breast.
Read the excerpt from Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897.So, as soon as we were dismissed, I ran down the hill, rushed breathless into [my father’s] office, laid the new Greek Testament, which was my prize, on his table and exclaimed: "There, I got it!" He took up the book, asked me some questions about the class, the teachers, the spectators, and evidently pleased, handed it back to me. Then, while I stood looking and waiting for him to say something which would show that he recognized the equality of the daughter with the son, he kissed me on the forehead and exclaimed, with a sigh, “Ah, you should have been a boy.”
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