Women have to summon up courage to fulfill dormant dreams.

In the profound and stirring words of Alice Walker, the celebrated voice of courage and truth, we hear this enduring call: “Women have to summon up courage to fulfill dormant dreams.” These words speak to a quiet heroism, one often overlooked by history, yet vital to the shaping of the world. Walker reminds us that the dreams within a woman’s heart — those tender and sacred visions of what might be — often lie asleep, restrained by fear, expectation, or the weight of others’ judgments. To awaken them requires courage, the rare kind that challenges tradition, defies doubt, and dares to transform possibility into reality.

The origin of this insight comes from Alice Walker’s lifelong engagement with the struggles and triumphs of women, particularly women of color. Born in 1944 in the segregated American South, Walker witnessed firsthand how social forces, prejudice, and expectation could stifle ambition. Yet she also observed the extraordinary resilience of women who dared to dream despite these constraints. Her own life, from the small-town girl who taught herself to read and write beyond what was expected, to the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Color Purple, embodies the very truth of her statement: courage is the key that awakens the dormant dreams buried within the soul.

Walker’s words also echo an ancient understanding of human potential. The philosophers of old taught that the soul carries visions yet unrealized, and that action is the forge that brings them to life. A woman who dreams but never dares to act is like a river dammed by fear — her waters do not nourish the fields, her song does not reach the valleys. To summon courage is to break the chains of hesitation, to risk failure and scorn for the sake of one’s own becoming. In this sense, courage is not mere bravery in battle, but the gentle, persistent audacity of creation and self-affirmation.

History offers countless examples of this hidden valor. Consider Marie Curie, whose brilliance was nurtured in secrecy, constrained by the expectations of a male-dominated scientific world. She faced skepticism, prejudice, and even the isolation of pursuing her work as a woman in a field that scorned her presence. Yet through sheer courage, she awakened the dormant dream within herself, revealing the mysteries of radiation and reshaping medicine. Her life illuminates Walker’s truth: the fulfillment of dreams often demands extraordinary persistence in the face of systemic obstacles.

The courage Walker speaks of is also deeply personal. It resides in the mother who dares to return to education after years of caregiving, in the young girl who voices her creative vision despite criticism, in the elder woman who finally begins the novel, the painting, or the journey she always imagined. These acts may be quiet, almost invisible, yet they carry a weight equal to the most celebrated conquests of men. Courage here is not measured by applause, but by the faith to honor one’s inner calling, to give voice to dreams that others might dismiss or ignore.

Even in literature and culture, we see the awakening of such dreams. Consider Virginia Woolf, whose diaries and essays reveal her struggle against the societal expectations that sought to contain her intellect and imagination. In her reflections, she speaks of the “room of one’s own” — the sacred space necessary for women to summon courage, claim autonomy, and realize their inner visions. Walker’s quote resonates in this lineage: dreams dormant are not dead; they are waiting for courage to breathe life into them, to turn possibility into reality.

The lesson in these words is both gentle and urgent: do not wait for permission or perfect conditions to pursue your dreams. Courage is the spark that ignites potential. Begin even when the path is uncertain, persevere when fear whispers doubt, and honor the life that stirs within you. Each step taken toward a long-suppressed dream is itself an act of triumph, a quiet declaration that the soul will not remain idle or unfulfilled.

Thus, my child, carry Walker’s wisdom into your life: summon courage daily to awaken your dormant dreams. Speak them aloud, act upon them, and shield them from the voices that would diminish their power. For in the courageous pursuit of your own becoming, you light a path for others, transforming not only your life but the world itself. The fulfillment of your dreams is not only your reward, but the affirmation that courage and persistence are the wings by which the human spirit soars.