The Stepford Wives

The Stepford Wives is a feminist novel. Published in 1972, it was written at the height of second-wave feminism and the Women’s Liberation Movement in the United States. The movement sought to resolve issues in women’s daily lives, such as their sexual and reproductive freedom, right to work, and involvement in politics, as well as the unrealistic demands that women faced. In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which challenged the common assumption that women in suburban post-war America were happy to be solely domestic housewives. She cited a deep, underlying boredom and dissatisfaction with life that was born out of this lifestyle. Friedan is briefly mentioned in The Stepford Wives, when Joanna admits to being a fan of hers, and the novel clearly draws on similar themes of The Patriarchal Refusal to Share Societal Power as well as The Conflicting Expectations of Modern Women. Most of the Stepford women were previously interested in women’s rights, and the robotic versions of the Stepford women symbolize many men’s desires at the time to keep women in a state of subordination. Levin’s novels often featured feminist themes, with other examples including Rosemary’s Baby and A Kiss Before Dying.