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samikoonjones's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
maryvdb2024's review
4.0
This is a book about the obscurity of - Eileen O'Shaughnessy - behind her famous writer husband, George Orwell. All Orwell's previous biographies relegate "his Wife" to footnotes or leave her out all together, though Eileen's letter to Norah on which "Wifedom" weaves her story around only come to light in 2005. Wifedom makes a very important contribution to the literary world. Funders own position resonated strongly. How sad that so little has changed for women and how adept we are at adapting to an unequal world, forced by economics, lack of affordable childcare and keeping the peace. As Funder states"this kind of labour theft, and erasure mechanism of patriarchy, operates on you as a woman no matter how privileged you are" (Q&A interview with Penguin on 19 June 2023),
Eileen's contribution to Orwell's literary output is clear - she made conditions perfect for Orwell to be incredibly productive. As Funder points out we could all perform better with a "wife" like Eileen behind us. Better reading review aptly states "Compelling and utterly original, Wifedom speaks to the unsung work of women everywhere today, while offering a breathtakingly intimate view of one of the most important literary marriages of the 20th century. It’s a book that speaks to our present moment as much as it illuminates the past".
'All biography is partial, but Funder makes an undeniable case for believing in Eileen. Careful not to overstate her input to Orwell’s writing, she sees an obvious reason for his creative growth after marriage. Certainly Eileen suggested making Animal Farm a fable; most likely her poem End of the Century, 1984, and her second world war work in the Ministry of Information, fed the dystopian masterpiece written after her death". (Susan Wyndham, Gaurdian (7 July 2023)
"Patriarchy is the doublethink that allows an apparently ‘decent’ man to behave badly to women … In order for men to do their deeds and be innocent of them at the same time, women must be human – but not fully so, or a ‘sense of falsity and guilt’ would set in. So women are said to have the same human rights as men, but our lesser amounts of time and money and status and safety tell us we do not. Women, too, must keep two contradictory things in our heads at all times: I am human, but I am also less than human. Our lived experience makes a lie of the rhetoric of the world. We live on the dark side of Doublethink".
I highly recommend this book. It really spoke to me. Thank you Anna Funder.
Eileen's contribution to Orwell's literary output is clear - she made conditions perfect for Orwell to be incredibly productive. As Funder points out we could all perform better with a "wife" like Eileen behind us. Better reading review aptly states "Compelling and utterly original, Wifedom speaks to the unsung work of women everywhere today, while offering a breathtakingly intimate view of one of the most important literary marriages of the 20th century. It’s a book that speaks to our present moment as much as it illuminates the past".
'All biography is partial, but Funder makes an undeniable case for believing in Eileen. Careful not to overstate her input to Orwell’s writing, she sees an obvious reason for his creative growth after marriage. Certainly Eileen suggested making Animal Farm a fable; most likely her poem End of the Century, 1984, and her second world war work in the Ministry of Information, fed the dystopian masterpiece written after her death". (Susan Wyndham, Gaurdian (7 July 2023)
"Patriarchy is the doublethink that allows an apparently ‘decent’ man to behave badly to women … In order for men to do their deeds and be innocent of them at the same time, women must be human – but not fully so, or a ‘sense of falsity and guilt’ would set in. So women are said to have the same human rights as men, but our lesser amounts of time and money and status and safety tell us we do not. Women, too, must keep two contradictory things in our heads at all times: I am human, but I am also less than human. Our lived experience makes a lie of the rhetoric of the world. We live on the dark side of Doublethink".
I highly recommend this book. It really spoke to me. Thank you Anna Funder.
tsoutham's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This book made me angrier and angrier as I contemplated my own complicity in patriarchy. Wifedom will take you to new depths when you see what a woman can relinquish and a man abscond.
Anna Funder says "
Anna Funder says "
“It is a phenomenal advantage to the writerly imagination to think this way. The first task of the imagination, for a writer, is the creation of the writing Self. It's quite a job, and it helps to have two of you added: she, believing in you, so you, too, believe in yourself. This nurtured self is then mother to the work. And the work, in turn, becomes evidence of a self: I made, therefore I am.
And in that sentence, she disappears” p. 53
melanievonh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0