Originally published in 1977, The Women’s Room was a novel that-for the first time-expressed the inner lives of women who left education and professional advancement behind to marry in the 1950s, only to find themselves adrift and unable to support themselves after divorce in the 1970s. Some became destitute, a few went insane. But many went back to school in the heyday of the Women’s Liberation movement, and were swept up in the promise of equality for both sexes. Marilyn French’s characters represent this wide cross section of American women, and her wry and pointed voice gives depth and emotional intensity to this timeless book that remains controversial and completely relevant.
Oh my word this book!!! Wow. This is just amazing. The voices heard while reading this, so familiar. I encourage every young woman to read it. Although this was written in 1977, it is so timeless in the feelings of women, it is uncanny. In 1977 I personally was headed into puberty and in 1977 as a girl I just wanted to be a boy, because they had all the power and opportunity. I was always pushing that girls were just as equal to boys on all levels. I fought all through school for girls to be treated the same as boys. Much to my dismay, in my small conservative town, this did not work. Reading this book I had forgotten how the world actually looked at the time. The true freedom birth control and the ability to work outside the home for a decent wage, rights of divorced women all contributed to the change of women and spurred even more the fight for women’s rights, that we still fight to this day on a daily basis. We have come a long way, with a long way to go. The women in this book were and are how a lot of my friends are now, which was interesting to realize.
I read a library book, however I will be purchasing a copy for my home library. It is such a necessary book to read.
Marilyn has written more books about women and I intend to take those out of the library as well. She is described as a radical feminist author. I am so pleased to have found her book and learned about her life through research. I found the following online and intend to find all of these books!!! Marilyn spent fifteen years researching and writing her immensely readable four volume women’s history series From Eve to Dawn: A History of Women in the World. Her other non-fiction works include Beyond Power: On Women, Men, and Morals, The War against Women, and her memoir on her battle with esophageal cancer, A Season in Hell.
Happy Reading.
Peace.
