A WOMAN’S ARMOR
As necessary today as it was 200 years ago
I chose these books for Penny not only out of friendship, but as a necessity. She will need tools, mental, moral, and imaginative, to navigate a world designed to confine her. Each book offers one. The same is true for you. - Kitty Carroll
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson
Clarissa is a warning, and a mirror. The tragedy is not just what is done to her, but how others justify it—how easily a woman’s voice is dismissed, her decisions undone. Penny is brave, but bravery alone is not enough. She must see what happens when a woman’s “no” is ignored, and why her choices must be defended at all costs.
I am certain many of you have faced that already. If not, it will come soon enough.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
This is a book about being alone, truly alone, and still building a life. Crusoe survives by learning, adapting, refusing to surrender. Penny may find herself isolated in less literal ways, but the lesson stands: solitude is not failure, and self-reliance is strength.
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Quixote tilts at windmills, yes, but he does so because he refuses to let the world’s cynicism harden his heart. Penny will be told, often, that her ideals are foolish or impractical. This book reminds her that there is dignity in dreaming, and defiance in holding on to hope. Remember.
The Arabian Nights
Scheherazade survives by telling stories, by captivating a violent man long enough to stay alive another day. But more than that, she reclaims power through language. I want Penny, and you, to understand that intellect and empathy are not soft virtues. They are sharp. They can save lives.
Emile, or On Education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
I marked the passage on power and duty because it speaks to the world Penny lives in. And, unbelievably, still does in your day. She will be asked to obey. To conform. To submit. But obedience without consent is not virtue. It is theft. I added my note to be sure she hears what Rousseau does not say: real duty must be chosen, or it is nothing more than a leash.
These are not books for comfort. They are books for armor.
With my father’s compliments, and my intent.
Kitty Carroll