How does Joanna Eberhart exemplify the struggles that Betty Friedan wrote about in The Feminine Mystique? Choose two or three topics from Friedan's work and show how they parallel the lives of the characters in the novel.

In your opinion, is there a difference between how male and female androids (anthropomorphic robots) are portrayed in science fiction narratives? Research other science fiction or fantasy novels that feature male and/or female androids and see if you can find any gender-related commonalities. If so, what accounts for the difference?

Levin inserts subtle evidence of Joanna’s theory that the men of Stepford are replacing their wives with docile robots. Where does this evidence occur, and how does Levin weave the threads of Stepford’s dark secret together throughout the novel?

Why did Levin choose to make The Stepford Wives a satire? What effect does the novel’s satirical tone have on the novel’s themes, characters, and feminist messages?

How does Levin’s novel fit into the canon of second-wave feminist literature? What, if anything, does it contribute to the genre and political movement?

Although Joanna believes Walter Eberhart to be a feminist at first, it is eventually implied that there are no feminist men in Stepford. Why do you think Levin chose to depict all of the men as patriarchal? Does he imply that all American men of this era share these views or that the men of Stepford are unique in their extreme patriarchal beliefs?

How does Levin’s writing style serve to characterize Joanna as he narrates her story? Consider his use of literary devices such as simile, metaphor, free indirect discourse, and humor—among other devices—and provide examples in which his use of these devices creates a moment of strong characterization.

How does the slow disintegration of Joanna and Walter’s sex life demonstrate Walter’s anti-feminist views and his desire to keep Joanna in a position of subordination?