Walking into the National Women’s Hall of Fame five years ago with my nine-year-old daughter, none of the significance of the moment was lost on me. I felt the power of generations of women—and men—who fought for the many rights women enjoy today. Voting, for instance, or the ability to own a home.
We sought out the primary portrait we were there to see, that of the Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy. And I took in the plainness and simplicity of the place, paradoxically commemorating some of history’s most important figures and many of my childhood heroines who continue to inspire me today. I hoped my daughter would also grow to love and be inspired by these women.
Despite the almost drab decor, I nonetheless savored the beauty in every portrait and the power of the story behind it—until my daughter began pulling my sweater to hurry up and find the one we’d come to see.
