The Lions of Fifth Avenue

Although Laura overcomes several hurdles to retain a spot in Columbia University’s Journalism School, once enrolled, she finds her struggles have only begun. Purportedly a progressive school for allowing women to study a traditionally male occupation, the school and its professors are not so progressive after all. On her first day, Laura’s instructor-turned-advisor, Dr. Wakeman, sends the class out on their first assignment: The men are to cover City Hall, and the women a women’s hotel ban on butter. Over the course of the semester, it becomes clear that Wakeman sees two kinds of journalists: serious (men) and superficial (women). It is only Laura’s inquisitive nature that leads her to more significant stories, like Amelia’s work with the immigrant poor. Wakeman praises Laura’s work and seems willing to let her write about subjects beyond typical women’s issues—tea parties and celebrity profiles—but turns out to be a plagiarist, failing Laura for a triviality and then stealing her work. When Laura challenges her grade, arguing that men are allowed to editorialize, Wakeman responds, “It’s different for them because their topics are more complicated” (203). Of all the women under Wakeman’s tutelage, only one passes—illustrating the sexism of the era.

Laura faces similar obstacles at home.