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jwa 's review for:
Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen
by Alix Kates Shulman
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Considering how long ago this was published I was surprised to only come across it now. When I read the blurb and reviews online I was eager to read it since it's considered a feminist classic.
For one I liked the setting and found it to be both interesting and relatable still. It attempts to give an honest insight into 60's America and how it felt to grow up as a white middle-class girl and come into womanhood, get married, and become a mother. It does criticize the treatment of young girls in that society and the pressures put on them to conform and be perfectly obedient. It looks at love and duty and highlights how many never saw the importance of real affection and love but that once married it was the duty of those married to stay together for the sake of children, their parents, or saving face within society. We see how our author pushes back against society first by adamantly insisting on going to university, however unsuccessfully, she ends up not staying enrolled as it was deemed more important that her husband would continue education once they had a home to keep, so she was forced to stay home. It clearly shows us the appointed roles that were in place in this era for both men and women and our author largely criticizes the roles enforced upon women of the time.
For one I liked the setting and found it to be both interesting and relatable still. It attempts to give an honest insight into 60's America and how it felt to grow up as a white middle-class girl and come into womanhood, get married, and become a mother. It does criticize the treatment of young girls in that society and the pressures put on them to conform and be perfectly obedient. It looks at love and duty and highlights how many never saw the importance of real affection and love but that once married it was the duty of those married to stay together for the sake of children, their parents, or saving face within society. We see how our author pushes back against society first by adamantly insisting on going to university, however unsuccessfully, she ends up not staying enrolled as it was deemed more important that her husband would continue education once they had a home to keep, so she was forced to stay home. It clearly shows us the appointed roles that were in place in this era for both men and women and our author largely criticizes the roles enforced upon women of the time.