Alice Duer Miller

Alice Duer Miller (July 28, 1874 – August 22, 1942) was an American writer. Her feminist verses influenced political opinion during the American suffrage movement, and her verse novel The White Cliffs gave support to the U.S.'s entry into World War II. She also wrote novels and screenplays.

Quotes

  • People who deal in truth themselves recognize it when they hear it, just as people who deal in diamonds recognize a real stone when they see it.
    • "The Reluctant Duchess", in The Saturday Evening Post (April 4, 1925), p. 32 [1]
  • I am American bred,
    I have seen much to hate here—much to forgive,
    But in a world where England is finished and dead,
    I do not wish to live.
    • The White Cliffs (New York, 1940), last lines
  • People love to talk but hate to listen....Listening is not merely not talking, though even that is beyond most of our powers; it means taking a vigorous, human interest in what’s being told us....You can listen like a blank wall or like a splendid auditorium where every sound comes back fuller and richer.
  • If it’s very painful for you to criticize your friends—you're safe in doing it. But if you take the slightest pleasure in it—that’s the time to hold your tongue.
    • Reported in Woman's Day (January, 1947), p. 7 [2]
  • Don't ever dare to take your college as a matter of course,— because like freedom and democracy, many people you'll never know anything about have broken their hearts to get it for you.

Are Women People?

Are Women People? A Book of Rhymes for Suffrage Times (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1915)
  • There, little girl, don't read,
    You're fond of your books, I know,
    But Brother might mope
    If he had no hope
    Of getting ahead of you.
    It's dull for a boy who cannot lead.
    There, little girl, don't read.
  • When men in Congress come to blows at something someone said,
    I always notice that it shows their blood is quick and red;
    But if two women disagree, with very little noise,
    It proves, and this seems strange to me, that women have no poise.
    • "A Sex Difference", p. 60
  • "Mother, what is a Feminist?"
       "A Feminist, my daughter,
    Is any woman now who cares
    To think about her own affairs
       As men don't think she oughter."
    • "Feminism", p. 64
  • It's treating a woman politely
       As long as she isn't a fright:
    It's guarding the girls who act rightly,
       If you can be judge of what's right;
    It's being—not just, but so pleasant;
       It's tipping while wages are low;
    It's making a beautiful present,
       And failing to pay what you owe.
    • "Chivalry", p. 73
  • We are not really senseless, and we are not angels, too,
    But very human beings, human just as much as you.
    It's hard upon occasions to be forceful and sublime
    When you're treated as incompetents three-quarters of the time.
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