Irony of Education
Betty Friedan was a graduate of Smith College in 1942 and like many other women of the time, more and more of them were receiving the highest levels of education possible at universities. However, despite spending their lives committed to the pursuit of education and knowledge, in addition to financial resources, women like Betty Friedan gave up what they had learned and instead spent the rest of their lives as housewives, without using that education. Friedan herself gave up what could have been a prosperous career in psychology.
Irony of Expectations
The societal expectations that are mentioned thoroughly throughout the book and essentially drive the novel, are themselves ironic. These expectations include but are not limited to the idea that women will be fulfilled and happy as long as they focus on serving their husbands, caring for their children, and working in the domestic sphere. The irony is that these expectations are based on assumptions and no statistics, and these same expectations are also often created by men, who would not have a working knowledge of the opposite gender and what fulfills them.
Irony of Emotions
The idea for women in this society was that they were supposed to be emotional and passionate human beings who worked towards raising their children and helping their husbands with whatever they needed. People wanted them to be passionate, but ironically, people also believed that women shouldn't show signs of fatigue, anger, unhappiness, or irritation. These are all normal human emotions and prove that the individual is passionate and emotional, yet society still wished women to repress these emotions.
Irony of Freud
Sigmund Freud, as stated in the character list, was known to the American people and the world as the father of psychoanalysis. The irony of this man is in the views he had about society and women. His basic underlying beliefs were pro-women and supported the idea that women, just like any other person, should be able to pursue freedom and happiness. Betty Friedan even acknowledged this. However, his more specific ideas are misogynous and claim that women are inferior and weaker.
Irony of the time period
The ideology of repression and inequality among the sexes that was known as the feminine mystique was prominent in American society after World War II. This ideology promoted inequality by saying women could not and did not deserve the same rights and opportunities as men to pursue careers and ambitions because it was inherently wrong. The irony is that we had just fought an arduous and bloody war over the ideas of liberty and democracy, and the idea that people should be free to choose their own paths in life. Overall, this is a direct contradiction with what we practiced in our own society.
