In an account that was contemporary and revolutionary for its time, Betty Friedan writes about the roles women play in society. She explores the social norms and conventions of the time, which dictated that the happiest and most fulfilled feminine woman would be a woman who wholly dedicated herself to work at home, her children, and her husband. This ideology was known as the "feminine mystique." Betty Friedan herself was affected by this idea, as she struggled to feel fulfilled while following society's expectations. She realizes that there is something missing and works to find a manner of demonstrating this, leading to the creation of her book.
Throughout the journey of piecing this novel together, Betty Friedan combines the story of her life, the story of other women in America, and scientific research to convince and demonstrate that educated, intelligent women cannot be satisfied by merely staying in the home and serving their husbands. She brings in the reader with her own personal story of lack of fulfillment, describing how she gave up her bright career path in order to become society's perfect housewife. She then includes the stories of other women she interviewed, namely those who graduated from the same college as her, to create a compelling narrative that American society was getting it all wrong. By combining real life anecdotes with scientific journals, Betty Friedan was able to counter well-known psychologists of the time and even challenge social norms themselves.
The Feminine Mystique had a dramatic impact on American society. Released around the time of major civil changes in the 1950s, this book was able to take the chaos and anger of change that was evident throughout the country, and spark the feminist movement, pushing them forward and marching towards gender equality. This book helped question the standard that many had held true, and allowed women to ask the pivotal questions of equality that would define the feminist movement. Today, this book and its author are studied in courses about U.S. history due to the important role that it played in changing our nation's path.
