There is only one real tragedy in a woman's life. The fact that her past is always her lover, and her future invariably her husband.
Source: Mrs. Cheveley, in An Ideal Husband, act 3
-- Oscar Wilde, (Oct 16 1856-1900), Anglo-Irish playwright, novelist; He was noted for his flamboyant witty, sophisticated plays, e.g., The Importance of Being Ernest, 1895.