Daughters of Eve

A straight-up anti-feminist screed, and an embarrassment that Lois Duncan should be ashamed of herself for having written. The whole thing was so dreadful and offensive that I stole it from the Englewood Public Library in New Jersey so that no young minds would be tainted by it. (Yes, I know it was wrong. The only excuse I have is that I was in my early 20s at the time.)

The plot, as I remember it, is that a woman teacher, who’s your run-of-the-mill man-hating, ugly, radical feminist lesbian, takes over a girls' club and indoctrinates them all with her evil philosophy, turning them all into man-hating harpies just like her. Only one girl – one of the pretty ones, of course – is able to stand up and say, “No! No! Men are not all show more bad! There are good men!” and they shout her down. One of the girls winds up murdering her father with a cast-iron skillet. Does she do this because he beats her mother, putting the mother in the hospital, and threatens to beat and rape the daughter now that the mother isn’t there to kick around any more? Nope -- it’s because she’s been corrupted by feminism!

The moral of Duncan’s story is that feminism is not only a hateful philosophy, leading to irrational man-hating and probably lesbianism too, but also to patricide. This book was the most irresponsible, twisted piece of shit I’ve ever read. Issues much, Lois? show less

1980. This book would have really thrilled me in my lesbian separatist days. It is about a feminist club in high school that takes revenge on men when they feel they've been treated unfairly. The author's attitude is unclear. The moral judgements are mostly left up to the reader. First the club members shave the head of a boy who has used one of them for sex and then dumped her. Then they trash the science lab when a boy's project gets picked for the science fair over a better one by a girl. They also trash the coach's office when he uses money allocated for a girl's soccer team to buy the boys uniforms. At the end one of the girls in the club brains her dad with a frying pan after he beats her mom and puts her in the hospital. show more Sometimes the message seems to be feminism can go too far, but at other times the girls' action seem fairly justified and I was cheering them on. A good read at any rate and thought provoking. show less

“The silence was gone now, and the night was filled with voices—a chirp, a growl, a twitter—a burst of high-pitched laughter.”
― Lois Duncan, Daughters of Eve

I always loved this book, Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan. Can be read by any age group. And should be.

This book has been labeled the female "Lord of the flies". It was also , back in the day, banned in many places. I really think the reaction to the book was sort of extreme. I feel this is sort of a love it or hate it and I happen to love it.

For those that have no idea what this book is about it revolves around a high school society called Daughters of Eve. The group is presumably about bake sales and parties and only a few girls each year are asked to join.

The leader, show more Irene Stark is also the school's art teacher. She comes with baggage and does not have the highest opinion of men. Gradually she takes over the lives of the girls within the group, changing them, turning them from happy free spirited young women to bitter enraged angry people who become, like Irene, consumed with rage for the opposite sex. Things quickly escalate and tragedy occurs. Everyone's fate is changed forever.

To me, this is less about Feminism, although that certainly plays a role, and more about group think behavior and the consequences of "going along" with the pack. It also shows how people can be changed through group think or by someone extremely charismatic or in a position of power.

In that regard I do understand the LOTF references. But this is its own book and is unique. It will really make you think about what you would do if in the same position.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject matter. Beyond the plot, I love the descriptions of Michigan, the feeling of all four seasons that Duncan creates and I enjoyed all the characters. Each has their own story and the forces that shape one's life come into play here as each girl is changed for different reasons.

Daughters of Eve has been and remains, very controversial (as a great book should be!). None of the other books by Louis Duncan are remotely like this.

When this book first came out it was at the time when Women's roles in society were changing. Although it may seem dated to readers today it continues to have strong relevance and meaning in today's times as well as in the past.

It is also important to note that many years ago, Duncan updated the book to be more "current" to today's times. Not a whole lot is changed. The word "communist" is changed to "terrorist". Things are made a bit scarier. There are small changes like that. However I prefer the original and I feel bold in stating that I think most people will. It flows better, is more organic and feels more real. I did not think the update was at all needed although it is still a great book.

I am so interested in the differing opinions on this book. When I first read it I was quite young and did not really understand the damage caused Irene caused. It was only when adulthood hit that I began to really get it. That is why I would recommend this for adults too. I actually think adults may get more out of it.

5 stars and one of my all time favorites. show less

I loved Lois Duncan in high school (25 years ago). However, I am now reading through a list of banned books that contained this one and others. I am surprised at the blindness of the characters in the books. Very quickly an adult begins to influence seemingly sweet girls into exacting extreme revenge on their misogynistic community. No wonder women's lib has such a bad name. On the other hand, this book was a commentary on the battle of the sexes and the dangers of just falling in line. I don't see any reason for books to be banned though.

At Modesta High School there is a chapter of the Daughters of Eve who are sending out invitations for their new members. They have a new teacher, Irene Stark, who is going to mix things up a bit—you know—really get things done. With Irene leading them, this social club quickly turns into a group of girls who will test their social and moral boundaries at every chance they get.

I actually had a hard time with parts of the book. The extreme levels that were taken had me with the feeling that these ideas gave feminism a bad stereotype. I started the book thinking it would be milder but Duncan definitely has you questioning the actions of some of the characters.

I couldn’t wait to get to the end (and boy did it end with a bang!!) to show more see if I would feel better about their actions. I am pleased to say, when I closed the book and though about their actions as a whole, I was kind of in love with it. I think Duncan was right in writing it with the extremes she did because she smacks you with something that you MUST think about. Irene may be a bit insane at times, but haven’t we all been there? I remember literally seeing red after a comment about women from a guy in college. I was literally blind with rage and wanted to punch him—I didn’t punch him, but I guess I’m a softy that way. The point is that the book was a bit extreme, but I get it.

The best part was that Irene reminded me of a college professor I had for Women’s Studies. She had that passion and enraged fire that made you want to go out and change the world. I love that when I closed the book I felt like I had just gotten out of one of her lectures.

This is an excellent book that may have you questioning both sides but the important thing is that it will make you think. show less

Even though this book is 40 years old, it has really stood the test of time. An adult reader who remembers the 1970's will recognize echoes of 1970's Feminism, this book holds up surprisingly well. The shocker is that there is no real punishment for the teenagers, nor the adults, who run amuck here.

I really enjoyed this book, and read it back in high school. I like feminism and girls standing up for themselves, and I liked how even though the the teacher might have not been the best person to teach feminism, her students still took good lessons from their membership in the club, and the proactive ways they stood up for themselves. Overall I found this book to be rather satisfactory and the ending, as well. It would be interesting to see a sequel to this book, with more girls becoming empowered because I really liked the individual tales of empowerment within this book.