Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989.
| NUMBER: | 1165 |
| AUTHOR: | St. John Greer Ervine (1883–1971) |
| QUOTATION: | But the main purpose of marriage will compel us to revise the institution so that we shall not waste any useful woman, expecially if she is a woman of notable ability. It is a significant fact that there are no ‘unwanted women’ in polygamous countries. These derelicts are to be found only in countries which are monogamous; and they represent, less today, perhaps, than formerly, sheer waste of mother-power. Even as things are, the ‘unwanted woman’ is still doomed to lead a solitary life, unless she has an illicit lover, and can contemplate old age and retirement only with dismay. |
| ATTRIBUTION: | In this comment on Shaw’s play, “Getting Married,” Ervine summarizes one of the arguments in Shaw’s lengthy Preface to the play. |
| SUBJECTS: | Marriage |