In retrospect, I can say that, while "The Women's Room" wasn't always an enjoyable book, it was an important book, a narrative worthy of my time and attention in that it is a significant perspective of the life of the middle-class woman pre- and post- second wave feminism. It is often difficult for young adult women to appreciate our nearness, in terms of decades, to an American system which legalized and regulated the condemnation of the single woman. However, Marilyn French creates engaging snapshots of countless marriages defined by men, and particularly women, who are constrained emotionally, idealogically and rationally by gender roles. Emphasized is the helplessness of any women forced to divorce, and more than one character is described as mentally broken by the stressors of being thrust into poverty with children and limited job training. Leave well enough alone the outrage of being intellectually or physically belittled or quieted; it seems that the greatest facet of marriage in the 1940s and 50s was the element of discipline, namely a man's ability to keep his wife well-behaved and productive at any cost. "Punishments" for any behavior less than pleasing was divorce, isolation, emotional frigidity, physical harm and institutionalization. These are stories of women who, behind the facade of the upwardly-mobile white middle class, are kept for, literally, the fee of their life and well-being. It is evident that French felt a duty to tell more than one story in this novel. For that reason, chapters are filled to capacity with scene after gory scene- suicide attempts, violent encounters, economic ruin, and episode after disgusting episode of Eisenhower-era masculine complacency. For that reason, the prose is often rushed and dense to the point of overcapacity. However, the storytelling is riveting enough to hit the point home- we could do worse than to remember that the sources of stories such as these are never far away, that this degree of marginalization is as current as today.
Having never heard of this book before, when I picked it up and started to read it I had no preconceived notions about its contents apart from what was written on the back cover. Obviously the book deals with a heavy topic, the Feminist movement and how women were (and in some cases still are) treated by society at large. I have to say I'm not a big fan of this book. I can appreciate French's writing style but as for the content, I found it and the characters irritating, simplistic, one dimensional and predictable. At the beginning of the book I was half afraid I'd come away hating men, which I don't think should be the point of the feminist movement - its point is to get women recognized as equals to their male counterparts. In this book, it seemed to me, that some of the men were victims too.. but this was never elaborated upon (she briefly mentioned one to two of them becoming alcoholics due to bad marriages - it wasn't the societal norm to walk out on a marriage). I mainly felt that this was French's personal monologue/rant against the male population as a whole. I wished on a number of occasions that she'd get over it and make her characters stronger rather than letting them constantly take the mental and/or physical abuse dished out to them by men. They were all supposed to be intelligent women, why did they let this happen? They should have looked inwards instead of blaming others. French never really touched on how women often keep other women down as well - and this happens, Fact of Life. This book may have been hugely relevant back when it was first released but it certainly doesn't have the same impact today.
Do You like book The Women's Room (1997)?
I remember that I was impressed enough to keep my eye out for more French. At the time (almost twenty years ago at the time of this writing), I hadn't read much (any?) books of this genre; as a 'kid' I categorized anything about women as 'romance' and thus summarily dismissed them. I wanted science fiction and more science fiction, so my reading tastes were sorely out of balance (not that I wanted balance back then). It is amazing what lack of huge sources of reading material can do for that balance. Going from southern California to an island in the Mediterranean where reading is looked upon as a rather odd and silly way to occupy one's time, you quickly learn to snatch up whatever might appear at a car boot sale and be grateful that it is in English. I still avoid romances but I have learned that not everything with a woman on the cover or in the name is despicable.So though my notes are spare (Her first, slightly immature, good holding power), I can tell that I was surprised that I had enjoyed it at all.
—Ruth
This is truly one of the absolute best books I have ever read. Marilyn French is a genius. For any woman who has ever struggled with anything in her life, no matter how large or small. This book should be a must read. Read with an open mind and the whole book takes on a different tone. It is so powerful to know that the messages in this are timeless. I ran across a quote and this book in college and then saw in in a used book pile in the library several years ago. My copy is bruised and scarred but none the less, fantastic. I have read it many times and get so much every time I do. For those who want an intense range of feeling and emotion, this is one for you. A definite addition to the female library.
—Melanie
I read this book only recently after seeing it a reviewers list of books that they will read again and again, I had not heard of this book previously or the author.The story follows Myra as she goes through her life. It giver her accounts of being a woman in the 50's to 70's. There are many humorous moments in the book as well as many serious messages. I was not surprised to learn that this book is favoured by teachers and reading groups as there are a lot of areas of discussion. As I am a woman born in the 80's, it is hard for me to actually imagine what life was like for women before me. I have heard of the struggles against women being the weaker sex and that she had to stay at home whilst the man worked but thankfully, we are not quite like that so much anymore. This book made me realise and appreciate how hard women had to work to become recognised as people and to find a voice in society. The men are presented as weak in this book but then you have to appreciate that is was written by a woman. I would agree that although this book is rated as seminal feminist work, it is not at all preachy and is a very enjoyable read. I actually think that this book will only get better over time as women born into this society will become more and more detached from what life was like back then.
—ReaderSP
