By now the term Stepford Wife has been ingrained in the pop culture lexicon for almost half a century. It's hard to recognize a time when it didn't hold some impact, or at least was misconstrued as a satire of suburban life. However, Ira Levin's original short book "The Stepford Wives" came at a time when there as a rise in second wave feminism, where there was a struggle for women to appear strong and independent. It's why the gist of the story's submissive housewife seemed like a scary concept, especially since they all acted and dressed a certain way. The story, clocking in just shy of 130 pages, is a quick read about the dangers of indulgence and male domination that is at times funny and other times horrifying. Altogether, it is a thrilling read that brings the reader directly into the lap of the 70's mentality better than most with prose that is both dated in references, but also provocative because of those references' subtexts.
The story begins with Joanna Eberhart and her family move to Stepford. It's one of the most perfect towns imaginable, with every housewife performing chores while husbands sneak off to the Men's Associations. When Joanna wants to start up a women's organization, inspired by her own experiences with National Organization for Women, there is an overlying sense that there was one in the past that failed. But why? Levin's writing isn't just obsessed about the mystery, but takes great detail at admiring, fearing the perfection of these women's bodies and behaviors as they act like the simpleminded housewife that one would find on a 1950's sitcom. It becomes unnerving, especially as there becomes a lingering sense that this fate is inevitable. Joanna is doomed to become part of the Stepford mentality, and that includes losing a large part of her independence and personality that separates her from her husband.
While this premise may sound sexist, it's more of a satire that has multiple layers within the pages. On the surface, it's unnerving that a housewife would be that dull and only focused on chores. It serves as a conspiracy theory story about how men are brainwashing women, but are they even human? Is it humane to be submissive and keep up an appearance that is unobtainable? Then there's the brilliant satire around Joanna's personality, which includes countless references to women's liberation literature to the point of even including icons of the movement as supporting characters. Joanna is the ideal woman for the 1970's, even as she's a photographer who demands to have a provocative image to make a career off of. In that way, she is a different kind of housewife. She's the one who gossips, pries into other's businesses, and spends way too much time ogling the housewives' personal appearances. She wants to understand, but in some perverted way she is them already.
It becomes a tragedy as the story progresses as the subtle details begin to emerge towards the surface. Joanna is the story's sleuth, and her mystery has a power to it that makes the quick read easy to enjoy. However, there's detail such as being forced to clean house as her husband becomes more absent due to meetings. She can't be independent when the man isn't even around to help create a bilateral household. While the story condemns the idea of men overpowering women, it also suggests that part of the reason being a Stepford Wife is inescapable is because of the inability to be a mother with a regular life if it consists predominantly of watching kids due to other forms of negligence. It also doesn't help that she forms connections to the housewife cliche by becoming a gossip who wants to leave town, but can't due to the luxury that the neighborhood provides. It's all a confusing web that Joanna is tangled in, and it raises the question of whether feminism is having it all, or having what's necessary.
The story works as a mystery of early 70's feminism and the struggle to be taken seriously. The community is in some ways against change, but there's a need to overthrow the patriarchy. There needs to be fairness. Even the references throughout the book have a dated quality in part because some of them are for products that have since ceased production/popularity. Others read like staged commercials that usually rely on housewife models. Everything about the artifice reflects a desire to consume in order to create a happy life. Levin is a gifted writer who manages to find the right words in brisk sentences and paragraphs, all compiled in a way that gives the subtext more power. There's a good chance that every reference in the book can be studied and unlock a deeper understanding of feminism as understood in the 70's. Joanna herself starts off as a pioneer of the movement before hitting the various pitfalls. If nothing else, it raises as many questions as it raises goosebumps.
"The Stepford Wives" is at best an unassuming gem of social commentary as well as backdoor sci-fi satire. It creates the image of perfection then proceeds to tear it apart, finding the core of why this vision is socially accepted and why there's horror in the idea of the perfect wife. Everything about the book is seen from the outsider's perspective, and it manages to work because of that. What makes the book a touchstone almost half a century later is that there's a plausible allegory underneath, even in the sense that the Reagan-era women were regressive and nostalgic (unintentionally) for a Stepford Wife lifestyle. There's truth in the satire, and thankfully Levin knows just where to hit all of the punches in the most effective ways possible.
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