39 pages 1 hour read

Ira Levin

The Stepford Wives

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1972

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Essay Topics

1.

The Stepford Wives was written during the Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1970s. To what extent are the novel’s themes and concerns relevant today? Provide real-life examples of contemporary gender issues to support your claims.

2.

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.

3.

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?