quote · Legacy record
The nature of living and loving is the act of reciprocity. As women, we are told that to be the guest is to receive. We are told that to be the host is to give. But what if it is the reverse? What if it is the guest who gives to the host and it is the host who receives from the guest each time she sets her table to welcome and feed those she loves? To be the guest and the host simultaneously is to imagine a mutual exchange of gifts predicated on respect and joy. If we could adopt this truth, perhaps we as women would be less likely to become martyrs.
The nature of living and loving is the act of reciprocity. As women, we are told that to be the guest is to receive. We are told that to be the host is to give. But what if it is the reverse? What if it is the guest who gives to the host and it is the host who receives from the guest each time she sets her table to welcome and feed those she loves? To be the guest and the host simultaneously is to imagine a mutual exchange of gifts predicated on respect and joy. If we could adopt this truth, perhaps we as women would be less likely to become martyrs.
Approximate author period: c. 1955 AD · modern
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- Author or tradition
- Terry Tempest Williams
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
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- Approximate author period: c. 1955 AD · modern
Approximate author-period anchor from documented birth year 1955; activity date not established; Wikidata Q7705078, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7705078 (accessed 2026-10-08). Not a quotation composition date.
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Supplied reference C; CSV row 88247; supplied attribution, independently unverified
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