Women writers conform to proven values because they fear displeasing

Evidence

The writer who is original, as long as he is not dead, is always scandalous; what is new disturbs and antagonizes; women are still astonished and flattered to be accepted into the world of thinking and art, a masculine world: the woman watches her manners; she does not dare to irritate, explore, explode; she thinks she has to excuse her literary pretensions by her modesty and good taste; she relies on the proven values of conformism; she introduces just the personal note that is expected of her into her literature: she points out that she is a woman with some well-chosen affectations, simpering, and preciosities; so she will excel at producing “best sellers,” but she cannot be counted on to blaze new trails. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1945

Categorization

• SEED: Angle: how the demand to be likable — not lack of talent — structurally suppresses innovation by marginalized writers.
• XREF: connects to: Public hostility and dependence on opinion crushed many women writers’ careers; Women’s literary mediocrity stems from social situation, not natural destiny — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1947; Writers often feel vulnerable when sharing their journals. — Thomas Mallon, A Book of Ones Own People and Their…, 435

Broader Connections

• Women’s literary mediocrity stems from social situation, not natural destiny #expands (0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1947
• Writers often feel vulnerable when sharing their journals. #corroborates (0.72) — Thomas Mallon, A Book of Ones Own People and Their…, 435