Iron Widow

Title:: Iron Widow
Year:: 2021
Author:: Zhao, Xiran Jay
Genre:: Fantasy
Rating:: 5
date finished:: 2024-12-27

Wu Zetian is a very angry woman.

Highlights

But a mother who has failed me so thoroughly is no mother of mine. — location: 468

Some of us were born to be used and discarded. We can’t afford to simply go along with the flow of life, because nothing in this world has been created, built, or set up in our favor. If we want something, we have to push back against everything around us and take it by force.” — location: 544

“You’ve been living a dream for long enough!” I yell at the cameras between bursts of maniacal laughter, raising my arms. “Welcome to your nightmare!” — location: 1236

It’s hilarious. Men want us so badly for our bodies, yet hate us so much for our minds. — location: 1387

But if I don’t detach myself from this fear, they will pummel me with it, choke me with it, enslave me with it. — location: 1736

And, in the end, isn’t that all dignity is? The boundaries and values you decide for yourself? — location: 1807

“That’s not a matter of losing control. Every guy who does something like that knows exactly what he’s doing. There is always a moment where he consciously decides that he will ruin someone’s life to feel better about his own. Always.” — location: 1953

If dead concubine-pilots had any power, the army would be decimated by now. — location: 2347

The notion that men and women must be with only each other tires me as much as the pilot system. — location: 2531

What I have learned through this madness is that you can absolutely solve your problems by throwing money at them. If you can’t, you probably don’t have enough money for that particular problem. — location: 2571

“Yes, because love doesn’t solve problems,” I say. “Solving problems solves problems.” — location: 2644

How do you take the fight out of half the population and render them willing slaves? You tell them they’re meant to do nothing but serve from the minute they’re born. You tell them they’re weak. You tell them they’re prey. You tell them over and over, until it’s the only truth they’re capable of living. — location: 3107

I know they don’t do things like this out of some malicious intent to get something out of me or to bind me more tightly to them, so I don’t resist or say anything, but I hate that the world keeps stripping me of my ability to do things for myself. I hate that I have to have Yizhi and Shimin in my life, even though I love one of them, and the other is a necessary partner. Can I really call myself a strong girl if I’m relying on two boys? — location: 3698

You’re not something to be kept or taken, and love isn’t some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open. I mean, when you think about it, love is fueled mostly by compatibility. — location: 4045

“Do you know how karma really works, Shimin?” I snarl. “It’s not something that can be prayed into existence or counted on to fall from the sky. It has to be hand-delivered. — location: 4684

“I think this whole concept of women being docile and obedient is nothing but wishful thinking. Or why would you put so much effort into lying to us? Into crippling our bodies? Into coercing us with made-up morals you claim are sacred? You insecure men, you’re afraid. You can force us into compliance, but, deep down, you know you can’t force us to truly love and respect you. And without love and respect, there will always be a seed of hatred and resistance. Growing. Festering. Waiting.” — location: 4834

Perks of refusing to play by the rules: you don’t have to choose between the boy who’d torture a man to death with you and the boy who’d welcome you back with pastries after. — location: 4851