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kristin16's review against another edition
4.0
Largely great, sans the parts where she lays the blame of all society’s ills on the current state of motherhood!
k8dkc's review against another edition
4.0
Dense book that was hard to read at times, but many points still relevant today! Well thought out and argued. I was inspired to read it after I was totally taken by The Yellow Wallpaper. Unsurprisingly, though, it really only tackles middle and upper income white women's struggles and doesn't delve too deeply into the experience of low income women or women of color. Makes me think of Virginia Woolf in that respect.
sarkynir's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a little upset that I didn't learn this in my Sociology undergraduate degree. Gilman is a great writer and this is a groundbreaking work.
Still, the eugenics and racist bits were uncomfortable and weird to read, especially as she contradicts herself a lot.
Still, the eugenics and racist bits were uncomfortable and weird to read, especially as she contradicts herself a lot.
stephenmeansme's review against another edition
challenging
slow-paced
3.0
A brilliant, prescient, and very dated manifesto of Suffrage-era American feminism. It's rather incredible to read such a progressive thesis expounded through the language of social Darwinism, but such were the times that Ms. Gilman was living in. 3 stars because there are a lot of interesting little details and she's a very good writer, but I wouldn't recommend adopting her political phil sophy wholesale.
micklesreads's review against another edition
3.0
This book was quite interesting. It's definitely a polemic, which isn't really my thing, but I did find some of her theories quite fascinating. I read this as a companion with The Professor's House, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Awakening It provided a useful lens through which to view these texts, as well as a touchstone for discussion.