Reading Women: How the Great Books of Feminism Changed My Life (PublicAffairs 2011)
If you could go back to college, but this time armed with age and experience, how would you confront the books that once rocked your world?
I set out to answer this very question a few years ago, returning to my alma mater to re-enroll in a class on feminist texts. At that point I had already been out of school for more than a decade. I was married. I was mother to a young child. Yet, after my daughter was born, I found myself reaching out to the great books of feminism that had influenced me so profoundly as a young woman; these books formed my touchstone. Becoming a parent, for all its wonder and excitement, was also a time of confusion and vulnerability. Re-reading the feminist classics helped me to find my way through this transitional period in my life, as I figured out my new roles of wife and mother. The result of my literary explorations is my book Reading Women.
Below are some of the books I discuss in Reading Women:
Adam, Eve, and the Serpent by Elaine Pagels
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone
Sexual Politics by Kate Millett
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
In a Different Voice by Carol Gilligan
Dora: An Analysis of a Case of Hysteria by Sigmund Freud
The Morning After: Sex, Fear, and Feminism by Katie Roiphe
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
I read many, many more books and articles during the course of the class than the ones mentioned above, although, regrettably, I could not include all of them without venturing into War and Peace territory. My desk drawers are still jammed with the marbled composition books I filled with my scrawled notes and observations, as well as several typed-up chapters that, for one reason or another, didn’t make the final cut.
Ultimately, I view Reading Women as an invitation – and an inspiration, I hope – to turn back to these books or, if you haven’t read them, to pick them up for the first time. To that end, I have included in the book’s appendix a complete reading list from the course. I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences with these books and always welcome any suggestions you may have for further reading.
Just read your book and wanted to say thank you, totally loved it. Is so good to see that I am not the only one going through this Feminists chaos of trying to juggle evrything. Much success with your book and I’m sure it will become a must text for the next generation of Fem classes. : )
Thank you so much, Johana! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book and really appreciate your kind wishes. Thanks for getting in touch.
Pre-ordered your book and looking forward to its arrival!
for the month of March, to celebrate Women’s History Month, I’m going to read some feminist texts (the plan is also to read novels with women as the main character to still celebrate but balance some of the heavier stuff). But I’m kicking off the month with your book
I am definitely looking forward to it, and I’m really hoping I’ll be able to make it to BookCourt Monday night!
Thanks so much, Nicole! I would love to hear your thoughts on Reading Women, and please come up and say hello if you make it to BookCourt on Monday.
so glad to have stumbled upon your article on NPR, which made me stumble upon your blog! This book sounds like a page from my life! I am finishing up my degree now in Women’s Studies, at the age of 40. A degree I started after high school, but got side tracked through a sea of “life”. Its amazing how differently I react to these texts as a wife and mother. Sometimes empowering, sometimes confusing as all get out! I am glad there are many of us who are trying to balance the wife / mother / feminist (in no particular order!). I will add this to my “to be read” pile!
How great that you’re getting your degree in Women’s Studies! Congratulations! And I hear you about the sea of “life” (this book was supposed to take a year, and instead took five …). I would be really interested to hear your reactions to some of the books you read, coming at them from a different perspective.
I just bought your book for my kindle after reading about it on the Feministing site…I’m looking forward to diving in to women’s literature again.
Thanks so much for your note. I hope you enjoy the book and would love to hear your feedback!
Hi Stephanie…
I got distracted by Real Life(tm) and let my plan to read your book while simultaneously reading your reading list fall by the wayside this spring. I still have it on the burner, and just copied your reading list from the back of the book to an evernote notebook with Plans to Read ™ now scheduled for summer. Still have Adam, Eve and the Serpent and Perpetua’s Passion checked out from the library and dug out Vindication of the Rights of Women from my personal collection.
I would love to see your blog expand into a forum for discussing your book, the items on the reading list and other topics of interest to women.
I know that sounds a little heavy for summer, but I will keep checking.
I just finished your book this morning after dropping my son off at the airport. My nest is finally empty. About halfway through the book I knew I was already in love. Now I want to see if I can’t convince some women friends, my daughter and my daughter-in-law to join me in reading through your reading list. Unfortunately, I am surrounded by many non-readers and I’m afraid my powers of persuasion can only go so far. But I’m already trying to think how I am possibly going to say all the good things I want to say when I write my review.
Such a lovely message, thank you. And I’m so excited that you’re inspired to read through the reading list! Especially with the women in your life. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you can persuade them to join you and would love to hear how your reading goes. (Also, if you’re interested, I would recommend checking out A Year of Feminist Classics blog.) Thanks so much again for writing.
I just finished your book on a flight to visit my boyfriend in Chicago last night. I’m moving in with him after I finish up a master’s program in biology in a few weeks. You spoke to my anxieties as I set out to take a chance on love like I never thought I would. I had one of those moments after finishing a great book where you find yourself absently staring out a window and caressing the cover in gratitude. I have to thank you for so eloquently articulating those confusing, maybe even competing, anxieties that I’m becoming newly aware of as I make this transition. I was a Women and Gender Studies minor in college, and, even just 3 or 4 years ago, I could not imagine the readings you discussed feeling so personal. I look forward to making my way through your reading list. Thank you again!
Dear Aubrey, your wonderful note means so much to me, thank you for getting in touch. And I’m particularly thrilled to hear you’re planning to tackle the reading list yourself! I would love to hear how you find the ritual of re-reading, especially as a former Women and Gender Studies minor. In the meantime, many congratulations on your master’s degree, and I wish you all the very best with your upcoming move.