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A review by irreverentreader
The Women's Room by Marilyn French
5.0
I took several women's studies courses in college...how did I never hear of this book until now?
Perhaps more raw and unfiltered than The Second Sex or The Feminine Mystique, Marilyn French uses her unparalleled powers of storytelling to showcase some of the most uncomfortable truths that women and society have tried to bury and ignore, simply because they are so deeply distressing to look at with a critical eye.
This book follows the character Mira through her late teenage years into her early 40s and details all the typical life stages that a woman experiences throughout: dating, marriage, motherhood, divorce, as well as chronicling the natural progression of upward mobility that is both expected and sought after in white, middle class, nuclear families. But what this book does so beautifully, so painstakingly, is delve into the deep emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of women moving through these pre-determined life stages and quietly asking themselves, is this it?
This book weighed heavy on me throughout my reading because as far as we've come in the feminist movement, it shows how insidious our culture still is at keeping women in a box. It shows us that the freedom of movement we have now isn't because we've broken free--we've just been given a bigger box. I have never highlighted a book so vigorously; I have never felt so understood as a woman--to have someone put words to the vague feelings of entrapment and unease that so many of us feel on a daily basis. And French also does an amazing job of crafting her characters--they were as real as any living, breathing human I've met. I wish I had friends like Val, Iso, Kayla, Mira, and Clarissa.
I think this should be required reading for anyone who considers themself a feminist. I think it should be required reading for anyone who doesn't. By no means is this an easy read, but my god, it is worthwhile. I'm not sure how it has gotten quietly buried by the ages, but it should be resurrected. French asks all the hard questions, and by the end, the reader is asking them too.
Perhaps more raw and unfiltered than The Second Sex or The Feminine Mystique, Marilyn French uses her unparalleled powers of storytelling to showcase some of the most uncomfortable truths that women and society have tried to bury and ignore, simply because they are so deeply distressing to look at with a critical eye.
This book follows the character Mira through her late teenage years into her early 40s and details all the typical life stages that a woman experiences throughout: dating, marriage, motherhood, divorce, as well as chronicling the natural progression of upward mobility that is both expected and sought after in white, middle class, nuclear families. But what this book does so beautifully, so painstakingly, is delve into the deep emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of women moving through these pre-determined life stages and quietly asking themselves, is this it?
This book weighed heavy on me throughout my reading because as far as we've come in the feminist movement, it shows how insidious our culture still is at keeping women in a box. It shows us that the freedom of movement we have now isn't because we've broken free--we've just been given a bigger box. I have never highlighted a book so vigorously; I have never felt so understood as a woman--to have someone put words to the vague feelings of entrapment and unease that so many of us feel on a daily basis. And French also does an amazing job of crafting her characters--they were as real as any living, breathing human I've met. I wish I had friends like Val, Iso, Kayla, Mira, and Clarissa.
I think this should be required reading for anyone who considers themself a feminist. I think it should be required reading for anyone who doesn't. By no means is this an easy read, but my god, it is worthwhile. I'm not sure how it has gotten quietly buried by the ages, but it should be resurrected. French asks all the hard questions, and by the end, the reader is asking them too.