"No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along"
About this Quote
The intent is protective and pointed: don't medicate away the ache of loneliness by outsourcing your choices to whatever solution is nearest, flashiest, or most socially approved. The subtext, sharper than it looks, is about agency under pressure. A "love-sick" woman is exactly the person advertisers, suitors, and even well-meaning friends can steer. Brothers is saying: your vulnerability is a marketplace; don't become an easy customer.
Context matters. Brothers was a mid-century media psychologist who translated mental health into talk-show vernacular. She spoke in an era when women's emotional lives were routinely minimized ("hysterical", "needy") and when pharmaceuticals and self-help were booming, often pitched as lifestyle upgrades. The line uses humor to smuggle in a boundary: desire isn't an emergency that requires immediate treatment. Sit with it long enough to choose deliberately - not reactively - because the wrong "pill" can be a relationship, a habit, or a story about yourself you'll spend years trying to taper off.
Quote Details
| Topic | Love |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Brothers, Joyce. (2026, January 15). No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-love-sick-a-woman-is-she-shouldnt-61292/
Chicago Style
Brothers, Joyce. "No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-love-sick-a-woman-is-she-shouldnt-61292/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"No matter how love-sick a woman is, she shouldn't take the first pill that comes along." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-love-sick-a-woman-is-she-shouldnt-61292/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.









