surreptitious
surĀ·repĀ·tiĀ·tious
[sur-uhp-tish-uhs]
adjective
1.
obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.
2.
acting in a stealthy way.
3.
obtained by subreption; subreptitious.
Found in Mina Loys Feminist Manifesto
“The woman who has not succeeded in striking that advantageous bargin– is prohibited from any but surreptitous re-action to Life-stimuli–&entireky debarred maternity.”
This definition helps me better understand the passage becuase I now understand that Mina Loy was trying to tell the reader that you cannot act in a stealthy way. The passage now comes together with knowing the word.
When Loy writes “is prohibited from any but surreptitious re-action,” she says, in other words, that the woman can’t do anything except react in a surreptitious way. Can you take us through the passage more carefully to see what she’s saying about what a woman must or must not do in a secretive way?