The Book Club for Troublesome Women

Margaret Ryan is one of the main characters of the book and arguably the protagonist, as the narration most closely follows her story and begins and ends with her perspective. At the start of the book, in 1963, Margaret is a 33-year-old homemaker living in Concordia, a planned suburb in Virginia, with three children and a husband. Besides instigating the formation of the Betty Friedan book club, Margaret also goes on to become a professional writer, first as a columnist for a magazine, and later with reputed publications as well.

Although Margaret is introduced as a “housewife” who is entirely immersed in domestic life, there are early hints that she enjoys intellectual exertion and worthwhile work outside the home and is not entirely satisfied with her role as a wife and mother. The opening chapters showcase tension between Margaret and Walt rooted in this dissatisfaction, and flashbacks reveal that Margaret excelled academically when she was at university. This background contextualizes the draw that the essay competition holds for Margaret, and later the joy and sense of purpose she derives from her work as a columnist for A Woman’s Place—Margaret enjoys and feels a sense of self-worth from doing meaningful work that is outside of her prescribed social roles.