Full Text of the Excerpt

But not only was it that, and now, this is something that I hope Cliff can listen to without getting mad, but I first realized that women could be something. This was also a great liberation, the real liberation that I got at Wellesley, when I realized that you didn't have to marry to be somebody. You see, I had some marvelous teachers at Wellesley, I can't even remember their names. You see, I haven't been back for fifty years, once I stopped by for a few hours just to see the place, but I haven't been back for fifty years to Wellesley. I never went to a Wellesley Club even, and I never have been a good alumnae. But at Wellesley, I really got my first idea that women could amount to something in the world. They didn't just have to marry. I remember the woman that taught us Shakespeare. I think that her name was Miss Bennett or Benedict. She was an old lady with white hair and she was one of the happiest creatures that I have ever seen in my life. She had never had a husband, she taught Shakespeare, I think, all of her life. She adored Shakespeare, she read Shakespeare and it was the only time in my life that I ever liked Shakespeare. She read it with such passion and conviction and I just adored Shakespeare. All of a sudden, I was just transported into Shakespeare and I could see that this lady had never married. She was old and had white hair and she was perfectly happy. She didn't have to have a husband and then I realized that people could get so much pleasure out of their minds.