"Besides, us folks takes a pride holdin’ in. My pa used to say, ‘Anybody can break down. It takes a man not to.’ We always try to hold in."
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 13. Ma Joad is speaking about Granma Joad’s quiet dignity at the death of Grampa Joad. Ma is equating the strength and dignity shown by the Joad women in the face of adversity to that of men – "It takes a man," she proudly says.