“The power of the word is momentous, and may take endless forms from the noble to the severe. But I am unsure whether anything that can be said even approximates the power of a woman’s present and directed silence, whether it convey her adoration or her scorn. Such silence knows no equal in utterance and cannot be had upon the page. It is as if the atmosphere has caught fire from within. Or one has swallowed the moon. The endless book of woman’s silence is a book of power, but no author shall transcribe its pages.”

— an anonymous informant