"I Thought I Stood," from Dreams by Olive Schreiner.

"I Thought I Stood," from Dreams by Olive Schreiner.

In "I Thought I Stood," Schreiner makes direct references to God, heaven, and divinity. Though the other stories in the Dreams collection, such as "Three Dreams in a Desert," employ language and depictions that are highly evocative of biblical references, this particular story goes one step further. The protagonist approaches God himself, asking that he may alleviate Woman of Man's control and violence. God suggests that the message Man needs is written on the heart of Woman. Schreiner might be using this allegory to point out multiple faults. Firstly, she is condemning the mistreatment of women, that has become so deeply ingrained within each realm of society, that to envision equity resembles a branch of thought that is ethereal and utopian. However, Schreiner may simultaneously be disapproving of the notion that equality is merely a far-off goal, requiring the aid of a higher power. God's assertion that women already possess the message that is necessary to achieve equality, is suggestive of immediate action and reform.

Schreiner, Olive.

HathiTrust.

Boston, Little.

PUB 1922.

Amy Wellington authored the introduction for this edition of Dreams.

Public Domain, Google-digitized.

Five Pages, Folio.

Short Story.