"To do common things perfectly is far better worth our endeavor than to do uncommon things respectably"
About this Quote
Perfection, in Stowe's hands, isn’t a fussy aesthetic preference; it’s a moral stance disguised as advice. "Common things" reads like a rebuke to the Victorian-era cult of distinction, the social hunger to be seen doing something rare, elevated, impressive. Stowe flips the status hierarchy: the everyday becomes the real proving ground, and "uncommon" ambition starts to look like vanity dressed up as purpose.
The sentence works because of its quiet power play with adverbs. "Perfectly" is absolute, uncompromising; "respectably" is social, mediocre, satisfied with appearances. Respectability was a dominant currency in Stowe's America, especially for middle-class Protestant life: behave correctly, be legible, be approved. Stowe, who understood how institutions hide behind respectable surfaces, suggests that respectability can be a way of opting out - doing just enough to pass. "Perfectly", by contrast, demands inward discipline. It’s less about applause than workmanship, less about achievement than character.
There’s also an authorial subtext: Stowe wrote in a culture that trivialized domestic labor as "women’s work" while treating public exploits as inherently more meaningful. By elevating the "common", she dignifies the unseen, repetitive labor that actually keeps households, communities, and ethical life intact. Coming from the woman who helped turn a novel into political weather, the line reads as both personal credo and cultural critique: greatness isn’t an exotic event; it’s rigor applied where no one is obligated to notice.
The sentence works because of its quiet power play with adverbs. "Perfectly" is absolute, uncompromising; "respectably" is social, mediocre, satisfied with appearances. Respectability was a dominant currency in Stowe's America, especially for middle-class Protestant life: behave correctly, be legible, be approved. Stowe, who understood how institutions hide behind respectable surfaces, suggests that respectability can be a way of opting out - doing just enough to pass. "Perfectly", by contrast, demands inward discipline. It’s less about applause than workmanship, less about achievement than character.
There’s also an authorial subtext: Stowe wrote in a culture that trivialized domestic labor as "women’s work" while treating public exploits as inherently more meaningful. By elevating the "common", she dignifies the unseen, repetitive labor that actually keeps households, communities, and ethical life intact. Coming from the woman who helped turn a novel into political weather, the line reads as both personal credo and cultural critique: greatness isn’t an exotic event; it’s rigor applied where no one is obligated to notice.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
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