I read an article about the release of Meg Wolitzer’s newest book, The Female Persuasion, which described the publishers release party and the near jubilant atmosphere of the women in attendance. The timing of the release could not have been better; Harvey Weinstein and the “Me Too” movement were at the center of every news story. Women were proclaiming loudly and ferociously that enough was enough. Men were called out for their outrageous treatment of women in all parts of society. Wolitzer had clearly written her book about a subject that the world was finally ready to accept as reality. The storyline of The Female Persuasion centers around a young woman who has always felt out of sync with the world. Her parents were not typical and did not even try to guide Greer as she grew. Greer’s drive and determination to make a difference in the world came totally from her own desires. Going to what she felt was a second rate college because of her parents in attention to filling out financial aid forms only added to Greer’s determination to succeed. It was while at college that this young woman suffered a sexual assault and this incident galvanized her plans to work for women and to fight the injustice of the male dominated world. Coinciding with this decision, Greer and her best friend Zoey had an encounter with one of the most influential feminist leaders of the time, Faith Frank. This chance encounter catapulted Greer into the feminist movement where she developed a following of her own. Perhaps this all seems like a description of a “rah rah, women are the best” kind of book, but that is really not the case. Through Greer and her friends we observe the slippery slop of manuvering feminism in a corporate world. The biggest question always seem to come back to “do the ends justify the means” in all situation. Greer is crushed by her idol, Faith, who sells out to the money men and then turns on Greer herself calling her out about her own faults and self centeredness and willingness to put her own interests ahead of even her best friend. Faith argues that women are not willing to completely move away from the “game” that men play when they undermine competitors, out maneuver partners and spend their time trying to figure out how to win. Greer, even though she says otherwise, cannot completely divorce herself from the world and the roles that have been meted out for centuries. This was a thought provoking novel that offers many plot lines that underscore the differences between men and women and the perceptions that people have and how they are influenced by experiences, gender and generation. Wolitzer puts it best when she says.....
as long as women are separate from one another, organized around competition … then it will be the rare woman who is not in the end narrowed and limited by our society’s idea of what a woman should be.
