Women are brave. Women are visceral. Women now support families on their own. Gone is the time when men were a necessity in a household—they may be desired, but they are not fundamental. Not anymore.
Women out there: be independent. It’s not easy, it’s true; but that cannot keep you from trying. It should be natural, the daily struggle. Both proving to yourself you can have control over your finances, and going after your dreams should happen seamlessly. What other option do you have? Depending on them? Men? No.
Be patient.
Women don’t have quite the same social rights as men. Women don’t make the same money as men. Women don’t receive the same praise as men.
But be patient.
Don’t forget: women should have control over their lives. No one’s to say what they should or shouldn’t do, or how they should behave. Women have to be ladylike? Veto.
Yes, people want love. A woman may want to find a man to call her own. She should not trust him blindly, though. She can’t give him all she’s got—don’t be a fool. She should find someone who treasures her. She should pursue love with a person who sees who she is and appreciates her for that.
Be careful. Women of this world, chances are: the right sweetheart for you is not the first one who crosses your way—possibly not even the second one. Take your time to analyze the situation. Get to know the other person, but—most importantly—get to know YOURSELF. Don’t give your heart away just so you’re not alone anymore: it’s not worth it. Trust me; it is not worth it.
Work. Work hard. Have a life plan. Have dreams—they will keep you going when things get rough. Things will eventually get out of hand, but don’t forget:
You, woman, are brave. You, woman, are visceral. You, woman, can do it—all of it.
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Manifesto Justification
The manifesto was written with the imagined voice Esther, from Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, would have after the story was finished being told. In the play, the main character went through some life-changing episodes that made her revise previous decisions in her journey. The story starts out with Esther being a 35-year-old African American woman who is single and sews undergarments for other women for a living. It takes place in 1905 New York City, where race is a bigger segregation factor than nowadays.
Just for the fact that she is a woman of color supporting herself in the big city, it is possible to see that Esther is a strong person. After a while, she is contemplated with a man sending letters to her—he is a stranger. Even being illiterate, Esther finds a way of communicating with that man for months, until she decides to marry him. She first meets her soon-to-be husband on the day they get married. From that moment on, she is faced with regrets.
The letters’ cursive led Esther into thinking he would be something he wasn’t, while he didn’t even write them—he was also illiterate. After that, she discovers he cheated on her. He also deceives her into giving him all the money she had saved throughout almost two decades. Here’s a part of the manifesto that is inspired on this Esther’s experience: “Be careful. Women of this world, chances are: the right sweetheart for you is not the first one who crosses your way—possibly not even the second one. Take your time to analyze the situation. Get to know the other person, but—most importantly—get to know YOURSELF. Don’t give your heart away just so you’re not alone anymore: it’s not worth it. Trust me; it is not worth it.” This may sound jaded, and maybe it is, but Esther had to create an armor around her heart to protect her.
The manifesto contains statements and pieces of advice Esther would give to other women. The end of “Intimate Apparel” portrays Esther leaving her husband and moving on with her life. She knows she doesn’t need a man. She may want one, but she doesn’t need one, as exemplified on the manifesto: “Gone is the time when men were a necessity in a household—they may be desired, but they are not fundamental. Not anymore.”
The manifesto ends with a positive tone, reminding other women that they are capable of achieving their goals: “You, woman, are brave. You, woman, are visceral. You, woman, can do it—all of it.” That’s what she gets from her experience of being in an abusing marriage: she’s still strong and capable of going on with her life.
