The Stepford Wives

4.5/5 A horrific and comically satiric indictment on conservative attacks on women's liberation, this novella, written in 1972, shows how astounding the “tradwife“ idea still is today--when a woman is on the cusp of (hopefully) becoming our first female president. As much as some want to return to the 1950s and put females back in the kitchen, Levin shows how truly tragic that return would be for us women. Indeed, “we will not go back!“ #election24

Having already seen the movie starring Nicole Kidman, I knew the plot of the book already so I expected not to be surprised or disturbed. Boy, was I wrong! Being female and having felt various degrees of pressure to conform to a more stereotypical and traditional feminine role, this book spoke to the part of me that is really terrified of losing my identity to such pressures. This book is like one of my biggest fears taken to an almost comical, yet never not frightening, extreme. The writing itself was clear and direct, but also deceptively simple. Even as he described Joanna's daily life, the author managed to maintain a level of creepiness and suspense that never left me, prompting me to read more-- even when I knew what was coming, show more and was dreading it. show less

I went in to this book knowing a bit more than I should have, but I didn't know the whole story. Levin skillfully builds the tension and suspense until the reader (and main character) can't take any more. I wished for a bit more payoff, but looking back, I don't think that was the point. The argument against patriarchy is very clear. It's easy (and scary) to draw parallels with this story (written in 1972) and today's reality. With devices listening to our every word at all times, computers are automatically building a human lexicon that is becoming seamless to our own spoken language. The robotics side of things is where the fantasy takes over, but today's technology is not that far behind. That realization I found chilling. "The show more Stepford Wives" is a fast read that will leave you feeling thankful robotics today isn't as advanced as described... yet. Because if things keep advancing like they are now, bridging the uncanny valley is a real possibility. show less

This is a great novella about the horror of feminism for men / the horror of men for women. Its nicely crafted, well paced, super creepy and a great read even when you basically know the story because it has so entered the public consciousness.
The growing dread as it becomes clearer to Joanna what is going on is palpable, the gaslighting is extreme, and you see the story get ready to repeat with the next incoming wife. We had a lot of fun discussing this at book group.

The women of Stepford, the setting of this 1972 novel by Ira Levin, are seemingly perfect: large-breasted housewives with immaculate homes and a cheerful attitudes. When newcomer Joanna and her friend Bobbie, another newcomer, try to encourage the women of Stepford to step outside their domestic world, they begin to suspect that there’s some sinister reason for the women’s submissiveness. And indeed there is, but if you don’t know the secret, you’ll have to read the book to find out what it is.

The best horror stories tap into our real fears, and it would be easy to say that The Stepford Wives doesn’t really horrify us today because women are more liberated. But are we? True, more of us work outside the home, but how often do show more we allow society define who we are supposed to be, instead of deciding for ourselves? The women of Stepford are forced into becoming who they are, but I think a lot of women today give in to societal pressure willingly, choosing to stay slim, stylish, and submissive, not because that’s their nature or inclination (which if it is, fine), but because they’re told that’s who they’re supposed to be.

As long as feminist is a dirty word and women allow their identities to be defined by others, The Stepford Wives is pertinent—and scary. And I hope someday it won’t be.

See my complete review at my blog. show less

The idea of entering a star rating for a book that came out when I was in kindergarten is pretty funny to me. But here we are.

Anyway.

The other night I was listening to the "You're Wrong About" podcast, and it was about The Stepford Wives. I read this book when I was probably about 19, and I've seen both movie adaptations, so I was pretty familiar with the basic concept, and even remembered details about the ending (which, considering that I can't remember the ending of a book I read a couple of months ago, is saying something). But YWA talked about things like the presence of Lithium in the water in El Paso, and how Miltown became popular in the days before Valium, and both of those things are actually part of my family history show more (specifically, my mother's history). I immediately went to Scribd and found the book, and ripped right through it.

I appreciate it much more now than I did at 19. I probably read it originally with at least a little of the "weren't our parents hilarious" take that older teenagers have on the past. I'm sure the technological ridiculousness of the concept was a big part of that. But now I understand that the technology isn't the scary part; it's the betrayal. It's the idea that someone you thought knew and loved you actually wants you to LITERALLY be someone else.

I really wish I could ask my mother if she read it at the time (she probably didn't; she didn't like to read). It would have been popular just at the time that my father moved to California, leaving us stranded in another state, her having not worked outside the house in 20 years, lucky to get a part-time job as a church secretary, relying on my teenage sister for childcare. I'm betting that given the option, she would have chosen to be a Stepford Wife over that. I'm betting that there were many, many other women in her situation who would have chosen that too. I'm also betting that Ira Levin knew this. I mean, even now I have to admit that I would *love* to have a mental subroutine that sees a spot on the carpet and immediately pulls out the vinegar and cleans it up before it becomes a vast, mysterious dark patch that a whole can of Resolve won't touch.

And that's part of the horror too, and what makes the book relevant, even now. That we are still so socialized to accept that these things--housekeeping and husband-keeping (mothering doesn't seem as important to the Stepford Wives)--are important enough that the idea of doing them automatically, without thinking about them, is still appealing, nearly 50 years later. show less

1972 book for my birthday challenge.

This was a fantastic, quick read that was both creepy and funny. Levin imagines a suburban community that reveals itself to be taking extreme measures against women who show the slightest interest in individuality and independence.

Now I see how the term "Stepford wife" has become synonymous with a housewife-type who prioritizes a clean house, family, appearances, and most of all her husband -- at the possible cost of having a life, and interests for herself.

Scary to think that even today, there are plenty of men in this world who would prefer to have the equivalent of a Stepford Wife over someone who can think for herself.