“In order to be accepted, women must compensate for their ambition and strength by being nice. Men don't have to be nearly as much d as women. I do not believe women are natively nicer than men. They may learn that niceness brings rewards and hat names ambition is often punished. They may ingratiate themselves because such behavior is rewarded and a strategy of stealth may lead to better results than being forthright, but even when women are open and direct, they are not always seen or heard.”

American novelist and essayist

Siri Hustvedt is an American novelist and essayist known for her wide-ranging prose across fiction and nonfiction. She is the author of a book of poetry, seven novels, two books of essays, and several works of nonfiction. Her books include The Blindfold, The Enchantment of Lily Dahl, What I Loved, A Plea for Eros, The Sorrows of an American, The Shaking Woman or A History of My Nerves, The Summer Without Men, Living, Thinking, Looking, The Blazing World, Memories of the Future, and Ghost Stories. What I Loved is the book for which she is best known, and What I Loved and The Summer Without Men were international bestsellers. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages.