nerd teacher [books] reviewed The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
Interesting Concept, Mediocre Execution
4 stars
The absolute worst part of this specific version of this specific novel is Chuck Palahniuk's introduction. I don't know why you'd ask him, of all people, to write a 'feminist intro' (or maybe he did that of his own accord, who knows)... But he failed miserably and engaged in misogynistic insult throwing while failing to understanding how structures of patriarchy, classism, and white supremacy intersect. (And he couldn't even recognise varying elements of queerphobia that were at play, either.)
Which is confusing considering Levin does a decent job at highlighting the horror of the 'feminist backlash'. Because it's much easier to see the backlash coming from the people in the middle- and upper- classes, this book is positioned well. It's still interesting to see that at least two of the women feel safe and secure with their "supportive" husbands, even though they have been steadily walking towards a tighter patriarchal …
The absolute worst part of this specific version of this specific novel is Chuck Palahniuk's introduction. I don't know why you'd ask him, of all people, to write a 'feminist intro' (or maybe he did that of his own accord, who knows)... But he failed miserably and engaged in misogynistic insult throwing while failing to understanding how structures of patriarchy, classism, and white supremacy intersect. (And he couldn't even recognise varying elements of queerphobia that were at play, either.)
Which is confusing considering Levin does a decent job at highlighting the horror of the 'feminist backlash'. Because it's much easier to see the backlash coming from the people in the middle- and upper- classes, this book is positioned well. It's still interesting to see that at least two of the women feel safe and secure with their "supportive" husbands, even though they have been steadily walking towards a tighter patriarchal structure right under their noses.
As long as you're behaving "correctly," according to them, they're happy to let you have the world you think you live in.
So much of this resonates strongly because we still see it, across a range of political views. Much like the characters in the book, many people of marginalised genders are still gaslit about their experiences and feelings and thoughts on the regular. Even within relationships with "radical" cishet men who "are feminist," many of us still struggle to have them actually listen to and care about our concerns only for them to tell us that they're "one of the nice ones."
Overwhelmingly, this book is able to portray a lot of the issues that women (and, if we're honest, people of all marginalised genders) face. Ironically, even the concerns of Chuck Palahniuk's introduction are addressed in the form of the woman who is a psychiatrist that the protagonist sees at her husband's behest; she tells her that there's nothing inherently wrong with Stepford, that the protagonist is overreacting to the fear and frustration of moving to the suburbs from the city... She doesn't listen to the concerns and only tries to say that they are solvable via her, that she has the answers. She's unknowingly working towards supporting patriarchal values and notions simply by denying the protagonist's feelings and explaining them away.
There are some undercooked concepts and discussions (like race and class), I think. But overwhelmingly, this just reminded me of the recent trend of trad wives. I think we've socially replaced the concept of the 'Stepford wife' with the concept of the trad wife.