DOCSLIB.ORG

Female Dystopias As a Warning

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Female Dystopias As a Warning Female Dystopias as a Warning How the Female Role in the Dystopian Narratives, The Stepford Wives (1972) by Ira Levin and The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood, is Portrayed, Including a Comparison to their Audio-visual Adaptations Word count: 26,471 Tara Van Den Neste Student number: 01300386 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jasper Schelstraete A dissertation submitted to Ghent University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics and Literature English and Spanish Academic year: 2017 – 2018 Female Dystopias as a Warning How the Female Role in the Dystopian Narratives, The Stepford Wives (1972) by Ira Levin and The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) by Margaret Atwood, is Portrayed, Including a Comparison to their Audio-visual Adaptations Acknowledgements I would like to thank several persons that have been important to me in the writing process of this thesis. First, I want to express my appreciation towards Dr. Jasper Schelstraete of Ghent University who has supervised me and has guided me during my writing process. Thanks to his feedback, Dr. Schelstraete steered me in the right direction without imposing his own point of view. His commentary allowed me to write the dissertation I had in mind. Next, I want to thank my boyfriend Laurens Guilbert, who not only had to deal with my stress but also read through the dissertation and gave comments whenever he thought it necessary. He helped me with certain parts that needed more support and with grammatical inconsistencies. Thanks to him, I kept going and never lost hope. A thank you to my parents, who support me at all times, cannot lack here. Thanks to them I am able to study at the University of Ghent and their endless faith in me never decreased throughout my entire career. I would also like to thank Pieter Lemmens, who has read this dissertation and provided me of useful feedback. Table of Contents 0. Intro ................................................................................................................................................. 1 1. The Origin of Dystopia and the Feminist Role ................................................................................. 7 1.1. What is a “Dystopia”? .............................................................................................................. 7 1.2. The Causes of Dystopian Writing ............................................................................................ 9 1.3. The Main Goal of Dystopia .................................................................................................... 10 1.4. The Feminist Role in Dystopia ............................................................................................... 11 1.5. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 13 2. Gender/women in The Stepford Wives and The Handmaid’s Tale ............................................... 14 2.1. Analysis of The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin (1972) ............................................................... 14 2.1.1. The Characteristics of the Stepford Wives .................................................................... 15 2.1.2. The Feminist Joanna Eberhart and her Friends ............................................................. 20 2.1.3. The Practices of the Men’s Association ......................................................................... 22 2.1.4. Joanna’s Husband Walter .............................................................................................. 26 2.1.5. A Doubtful Protagonist .................................................................................................. 27 2.1.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 28 2.2. Analysis of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985) ............................................. 29 2.2.1. The Female Oppression: the Handmaids ...................................................................... 31 2.2.2. Procreation as a Main Goal ........................................................................................... 34 2.2.3. The Novel’s Symbols ...................................................................................................... 35 2.2.4. Reflective Flashbacks ..................................................................................................... 36 2.2.5. The Two Influential Men ............................................................................................... 38 2.2.6. Sexual Desire ................................................................................................................. 39 2.2.7. The Female Power ......................................................................................................... 41 2.2.8. The Female Resistance .................................................................................................. 42 2.2.9. Utopia or Dystopia? ....................................................................................................... 43 2.2.10. An Open but Hopeful Ending ......................................................................................... 45 2.2.11. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 46 2.3. Comparison between the novels of The Stepford Wives and The Handmaid’s Tale............. 47 3. Audio-visual Adaptations .............................................................................................................. 52 3.1. The Popularity of Audio-visual Media ................................................................................... 52 3.2. The Creativity of Adaptation ................................................................................................. 53 3.3. The Stepford Wives (2004) and The Handmaid’s Tale (2017) versus The Stepford Wives (1975) and The Handmaid’s Tale (1990) ........................................................................................... 54 3.4. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 56 4. The Audio-visual Adaptations of The Stepford Wives and The Handmaid’s Tale ......................... 58 4.1. The film of The Stepford Wives (2004) in comparison with the novel .................................. 58 4.1.1. The Ambitious Women .................................................................................................. 59 4.1.2. The Gay Community ...................................................................................................... 60 4.1.3. A Light-Hearted Parody ................................................................................................. 60 4.1.4. The Romantic Plot ......................................................................................................... 62 4.1.5. The Overpowered Men ................................................................................................. 63 4.1.6. A Positive Ending ........................................................................................................... 63 4.1.7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 64 4.2. The series of The Handmaid’s Tale (2017) in comparison with the novel ............................ 65 4.2.1. The Sensational Aspect.................................................................................................. 66 4.2.2. The Romantic Plot ......................................................................................................... 67 4.2.3. The Heroic Characters ................................................................................................... 68 4.2.4. The Multiple Perspectives ............................................................................................. 68 4.2.5. The Problem of Infertility .............................................................................................. 72 4.2.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 72 5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 74 6. Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 80 Word Count: 26,471 0. Intro This dissertation focusses on the female role in dystopian fiction. Dystopian novels are valuable to humankind since they present a catastrophic future, warning us for dangerous tendencies in our present-day society. The cases of this particular research alert us for “the notorious backlash of neo-conservative and religious-fundamentalist anti-feminism (…) in the mid-1970s” (Lauret 71). “Women’s dystopias” reflect a feministic fear as they “foreground (…) the denial of women’s sexual autonomy. They show women trapped by their sex, by their femaleness, and reduced from subjecthood to function” (Lefanu 71). This paper will analyse and compare the ways in which women are oppressed in two dystopian narratives: Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives (1972) and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985). Moreover, this investigation will also take into account the novels’ most recent audio-visual adaptations.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Tolkien, Hispanic, Koonts, Evanovich Bkmrks.Pub
    Fantasy for Tolkien fans Hispanic Authors If you like J.R.R. Tolkien, why not give these authors a try? Kathleen Alcala Machado de Assis Piers Anthony Robert Jordan Julia Alvarez Gabriel Garcia Marquez A.A. Attanasio Guy Kavriel Kay Isabel Allende Ana Menendez Marion Zimmer Bradley Tanith Lee Jorge Amado Michael Nava Terry Brooks Ursula K. LeGuin Rudolfo Anaya Arturo Perez-Reverte Lois McMaster Bujold George R. R. Martin Gioconda Belli Manuel Puig Susan Cooper L.E. Modesitt Sandra Benitez Jose Saramago John Crowley Elizabeth Moon Jorge Luis Borges Mario Vargas Llosa Tom Deitz Andre Norton Ana Castillo Alfredo Vea Charles de Lint Mervyn Peake Miguel de Cervantes David Eddings Terry Pratchett Denise Chavez Eric Flint Philip Pullman Sandra Cisneros Alan Dean Foster Neal Stephenson Paulo Coehlo C. S. Friedman Harry Turtledove Humberto Costantini Neil Gaiman Margaret Weis Jose Donoso 7/05 Barbara Hambly Connie Willis Laura Esquivel Elizabeth Hand Roger Zelazny Carlos Fuentes Tracy Hickman Cristina Garcia Oscar Hijuelos 7/05 ]tÇxà XätÇÉä|v{ If you like Dean Koontz 7/05 Janet Evanovich, Romantic mysteries you might like: Pseudonyms of Dean Martin H. Greenberg filled with action Susan Andersen Koontz: Caitlin Kiernan and humor. J.S. Borthwick David Axton Stephen King Stephanie Plum Jan Burke Brian Coffey Joe Lansdale Dorothy Cannell Mysteries K.R. Dwyer James Lasdun Harlan Coben One for the money Leigh Nichols Ira Levin Jennifer Crusie Two for the dough Anthony North Bentley Little Jennifer Drew Three to get deadly Richard Paige H.P. Lovecraft G.M. Ford Four to score Owen West Robin McKinley Kinky Friedman High five Sue Grafton Graham Masterton Hot six Heather Graham If you like Dean Koontz, Richard Matheson Seven up Sparkle Hayter you might like: Joyce Carol Oates Hard eight Carl Hiassen Richard Bachman Tom Piccirilli To the nines P.D.
    [Show full text]
  • THESIS ANXIETIES and ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING the POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communicati
    THESIS ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID Submitted by Carly Fabian Department of Communication Studies In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colorado Fall 2018 Master’s Committee: Advisor: Katie L. Gibson Kit Hughes Kristina Quynn Copyright by Carly Leilani Fabian 2018 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT ANXIETIES AND ARTIFICIAL WOMEN: DISASSEMBLING THE POP CULTURE GYNOID This thesis analyzes the cultural meanings of the feminine-presenting robot, or gynoid, in three popular sci-fi texts: The Stepford Wives (1975), Ex Machina (2013), and Westworld (2017). Centralizing a critical feminist rhetorical approach, this thesis outlines the symbolic meaning of gynoids as representing cultural anxieties about women and technology historically and in each case study. This thesis draws from rhetorical analyses of media, sci-fi studies, and previously articulated meanings of the gynoid in order to discern how each text interacts with the gendered and technological concerns it presents. The author assesses how the text equips—or fails to equip—the public audience with motives for addressing those concerns. Prior to analysis, each chapter synthesizes popular and scholarly criticisms of the film or series and interacts with their temporal contexts. Each chapter unearths a unique interaction with the meanings of gynoid: The Stepford Wives performs necrophilic fetishism to alleviate anxieties about the Women’s Liberation Movement; Ex Machina redirects technological anxieties towards the surveilling practices of tech industries, simultaneously punishing exploitive masculine fantasies; Westworld utilizes fantasies and anxieties cyclically in order to maximize its serial potential and appeal to impulses of its viewership, ultimately prescribing a rhetorical placebo.
    [Show full text]
  • Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: a Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant
    Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University English Dissertations Department of English Summer 8-7-2012 Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant James H. Shimkus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss Recommended Citation Shimkus, James H., "Teaching Speculative Fiction in College: A Pedagogy for Making English Studies Relevant." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2012. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/english_diss/95 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of English at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in English Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TEACHING SPECULATIVE FICTION IN COLLEGE: A PEDAGOGY FOR MAKING ENGLISH STUDIES RELEVANT by JAMES HAMMOND SHIMKUS Under the Direction of Dr. Elizabeth Burmester ABSTRACT Speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, and horror) has steadily gained popularity both in culture and as a subject for study in college. While many helpful resources on teaching a particular genre or teaching particular texts within a genre exist, college teachers who have not previously taught science fiction, fantasy, or horror will benefit from a broader pedagogical overview of speculative fiction, and that is what this resource provides. Teachers who have previously taught speculative fiction may also benefit from the selection of alternative texts presented here. This resource includes an argument for the consideration of more speculative fiction in college English classes, whether in composition, literature, or creative writing, as well as overviews of the main theoretical discussions and definitions of each genre.
    [Show full text]
  • “Something Strange Is Happening in the Town of Stepford”
    “Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford” A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) By Kristina Dahl A Thesis Submitted to The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages UNIVERSITETET I OSLO In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA degree February 2014 II “Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford” A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) By Kristina Dahl A Thesis Submitted to The Department of Literature, Area Studies, and European Languages UNIVERSITETET I OSLO In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the MA degree February 2014 III © Kristina Dahl 2014 “Something Strange is Happening in the Town of Stepford”*: A Thesis on Portrayal of Women in The Stepford Wives (1975, 2004) *Tagline retrieved from www.IMDB.com. Kristina Dahl http://www.duo.uio.no/ Trykk: Reprosentralen, Universitetet i Oslo. Picture on the Previous Page: Paramount Pictures’ cover photo for The Stepford Wives (2004) DVD. Application for permission to use has been submitted. IV Abstract The thesis presented works from the assumption that films produced in Hollywood are important historical documents that can provide interesting comments on changes in U.S society and culture. Through a comparative analysis of The Stepford Wives film from 1975 and its 2004 remake, this thesis aims to examine how changes in genre, plot and overall narrative from the original to the remake reflect public understandings of feminism, and what the lead characters in both movies can reveal about the changing roles of women in American society.
    [Show full text]
  • An Interviewwithroger Zelazny
    No. 43 December 1972 An Interview With Roger Zelazny (You have asked me to step outside myself, then turn around and interview me. Okay. I’m outside now. I’ll stop right there and start questioning him.) “Tell me about yourself, Z.” “I was born on May 13, 1937 and received my B.A. from Western Reserve University in 1959. I attended Columbia for graduate work and received my M.A. there in 1962, in English and Comparative Literature. For a little over seven years, from early 1962 to early 1969, I worked for the Social Security Administration as a claims representative in Ohio and, in the final four, as a claims policy specialist in the SSA Centred Office here in Baltimore. I have a wife (Judy) and a son (Devin).” “Wait a minute, Z. We just passed a whole generation of psychoanalytic critics and biographers awhile back. What about childhood trauma and all that crap?” “I believe a piece of writing should be considered of, in, by, and for itself, a thing independent of the person who wrote it.” “But you are talking to me. I know where you got that. You wrote nothing but poetry for years—after you got out of high school and started college—and you got hung up on the New Criticism: close textual analysis, and the hell with the guy who wrote it. A touch of end-of-the-century decadence, too. The Symbolists, Firbank... But you were a Psychology major until your final year. You know that writing is a form of bahavior, and as such it invariably bears the mark of its executor.” “Of course.” “So tell us about your childhood hangups.” “No.” “Why not?” “Because I’m a bug on privacy.” “Shyness?” “Some, I suppose.
    [Show full text]
  • Masaryk University Faculty of Arts
    Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Bc. Kateřina Martináková Women of American Suburbia through Cinematic Reflection Master‟s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. 2012 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Kateřina Martináková Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr., for his guidance and patience. Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………….1 1. Women and Suburbia………………………………………………………….4 1.1. Occupation: a Housewife………………………………………………………..4 1.2. The Problem That Has No Name……………………………………………..5 1.3. Green Widows……………………………………………………………………….8 1.4. The Institution of Family……………………………………………………….10 1.5. Family and gender in suburbia……………………………………………….13 2. The Stepford Wives and the Quest for Perfection…………………….17 2.1. Welcome to Stepford…………………………………………………………….17 2.2. The Feminist Perspective…………………………………………………..….18 2.3. The Notion of a Housewife…………………………………………………….23 2.4. Cinematic Approach of The Stepford Wives...............................28 2.5. Concept of Uniformity and Perfection in American Suburban Space …………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 3. The Virgin Suicides and Teenage Oppression………………………….44 3.1. The Story of Lisbon Girls……………………………………………………...45 3.2. Teenagers and Suburbia……………………………………………………….46 3.3. The Lisbon Girls and Symbolism ……………………………………………50 3.4.
    [Show full text]
  • The Stepford Wives Free
    FREE THE STEPFORD WIVES PDF Ira Levin,Chuck Palanhiuk | 160 pages | 21 Jul 2011 | Little, Brown Book Group | 9781849015899 | English | London, United Kingdom The Stepford Wives - Wikipedia Netflix uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other The Stepford Wives. Learn more The Stepford Wives change your cookie preferences. Netflix supports the Digital Advertising Alliance principles. By interacting with this site, you agree to our use of cookies. We use cookies why? You can change cookie preferences ; continued site use signifies consent. Contact us. Netflix Netflix. After moving to the beautiful suburb of Stepford with her husband, a woman begins to suspect something is radically wrong with the neighborhood wives. Watch all you want for free. Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick are new to a very strange neighborhood in this comedic remake. More Details. Watch offline. Available to download. This movie is Coming Soon. The Witcher: Blood Origin. In an elven world 1, years before Geralt of Rivia, the worlds of monsters, men and elves merge to become one — and the very first Witcher arises. In s Amsterdam, a family starts the first-ever phone sex line — but being in the business of sexual desires The Stepford Wives them to question their own. For employees of the Deep State, conspiracies aren't just theories — they're fact. And keeping them a secret is a full-time job. A The Stepford Wives known as the maverick of news media defiantly chases the truth in this series adaptation of the hit movie of the same name. A journalist investigates The Stepford Wives case of Anna Delvey, the Instagram-legendary heiress who stole the hearts -- and money -- of New York's social elite.
    [Show full text]
  • Full Name: the American Gothic: Landscapes of Fear Short Title
    Full Name: The American Gothic: Landscapes of Fear Short Title: Landscapes of Fear ECTS Weighting: 10 ECTS Semester Taught: Hilary 2021 Lecturer: Dr Bernice M. Murphy Learning Outcomes: Students who successfully complete this course will: • Have become familiar with a number of key American horror and gothic narratives; • Will have been introduced to significant sub-genres of the wider American gothic tradition. These include: the rural gothic, the suburban gothic, the urban gothic and the highway horror film; • Have gained an understanding of the factors informing the cultural construction of place and space in American gothic and horror narratives; • Students will also be introduced to a range of critical and theoretical approaches towards the primary texts and the key issues raised by the course, as well as issues related the wider academic study of place and space. Learning Aims: “If we had less imagination, we would feel more secure.” (Yi-Fu Tuan, Landscapes of Fear) This one-term course explores the relationship between the individual and the physical environment in American horror and gothic texts from the beginnings of an independent American literary culture to the present day. From the seemingly savage wilderness that confronted the first European settlers to the brutal realities of frontier life and, latterly, the rather different varieties of terror found in the rural, urban (and then suburban) environments, American authors and filmmakers have always been fascinated with the impact that the nation’s vast and varied landscape has upon those who reside there. This course will explore the many reasons why this is the case, and also consider the differing ways in which horror and gothic depictions of specific geographical and architectural settings serve to dramatize some of the most profound anxieties and preoccupations associated with the American way of life.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Release
    BOHO THEATRE P.O. Box 409267, Chicago, IL, 60640 Office: (773) 791-2393 [email protected] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Kaela Altman, Executive Director August 19, 2013 [email protected] BOHO THEATRE DELIVERS CHILLING 10TH SEASON OPENER WITH VERONICA’S ROOM CHICAGO—BoHo Theatre kicks off its milestone 10th season with Ira Levin’s horror thriller Veronica’s Room at the Heartland Studio in Rogers Park. Running September 27th through October 27th, the play is a rarely-produced work from the acclaimed author of the novels Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives, and A Kiss Before Dying, as well as Deathtrap, which holds the record for Broadway’s longest running mystery play. Veronica’s Room represents the Bohemian Pillar of Freedom in BoHo’s 2013/2014 Season. THE PLAY “[Ira Levin] is the Swiss watchmaker of the suspense novel… he makes what the rest of us do look like those five-dollar watches you can buy in the discount drugstores.” -Stephen King, Danse Macabre This intimate thriller explores the thin line between fantasy and reality, and the lengths one is willing to go to find absolution. Students Susan and Larry find themselves enticed to an old New England mansion by its elderly caretakers in order to meet Cissie, the sole surviving member of the mansion’s family. They insist that Susan bears a striking resemblance to Cissie’s long-dead sister, Veronica. If Susan will agree to briefly impersonate Veronica, they believe it will comfort the dementia-afflicted Cissie and allow her to die in peace. But what begins as a simple errand of mercy quickly spirals into a nightmare cycle of guilt, sacrifice, and murder.
    [Show full text]
  • Stephanie Wells UC Berkeley OLLI, Spring 2021 Suburban Ennui And
    Stephanie Wells UC Berkeley OLLI, Spring 2021 Suburban Ennui and Dystopia in American Fiction This course will examine the weirdly specific genre of American suburban fiction initially made so notorious in the 1960s and 1970s by writers like Updike and Cheever. What is it about this aspirational niche of the American dream that so often leads those who have “achieved” it into despair or alienation? Through several novels and short stories epitomizing this genre, we’ll explore themes of technology, sexuality, marriage, whiteness, class, NIMBYism, parenting, and the yearning for home that even home itself can’t satisfy. The course contains five novels that you’ll need to procure; short stories are all posted on the course website. Please have the readings done before each class meets if you can. Reading list Week 1: John Cheever, “O Youth and Beauty!” (1953), “The Swimmer” (1964) Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966) John Updike, “The Orphaned Swimming Pool”(1970), “When Everyone was Pregnant” (1971) Week 2: Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives (1972) Week 3: Margaret Atwood, “The City Planners” (1965) Rick Moody, The Ice Storm (1994) Week 4: Don DeLillo, White Noise (1987) Sections: “Waves and Radiation,” “Airborne Toxic Event” Week 5: Don DeLillo, White Noise (1987) Section: “Dylarama” Week 6: Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides (1993) Week 7: A.M. Homes, “Adults Alone” (1990) T.C. Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain (1995) pp. 1-194 (through Book Two, chapter 3) Week 8: Ben Percy, “Writs of Possession” (2011) T.C. Boyle, The Tortilla Curtain (1995) pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey of Contemporary Horror Fiction Kendyll Clark Summer II 2006
    Clark 1 Survey of Contemporary Horror Fiction Kendyll Clark Summer II 2006 Clark 2 Introduction What scares you? Fear manifests in many different ways for every being on this earth. However diverse these horrific episodes may be, there is one universal element common to every human experience: We all have fears. One avenue through which we can explore, identify and even vicariously experience our most primal fears is through horror fiction. H.P. Lovecraft said: The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown. These facts few psychologists will dispute, and their truth must establish for all time the genuineness and dignity of the weirdly horrible tale as literary form (www.quotationspage.com). Coupled with Lovecraft's fear of the unknown is the fear of any threat to our fragile mortality, fear of anything that may potentially cause physical harm to our being. This is a phobia innate to every person. The most precious and frail endowment of human existence is our ability to sustain and promote our humanity. When this gift is threatened in any way, shape or form, a fear is created. There are several ways through which we can more concretely define these fears, subcategories to the dread of any danger to our delicate subsistence. For example, fear of the unexplained. This phobia can be defined as dread of that which we cannot rationalize with existing or obtainable evidence. Another is the fear of the unseen. This phobia could be described as fright of something that is intangible or concealed.
    [Show full text]
  • BOOK REVIEW of STEPFORD WIVES WRITTEN by IRA LEVIN Adelia Wulandari ABSTRACT Novel Adalah Salah Satu Bentuk Refleksi Atau Pencer
    BOOK REVIEW OF STEPFORD WIVES WRITTEN BY IRA LEVIN Adelia Wulandari ABSTRACT Novel adalah salah satu bentuk refleksi atau pencerminan dari kebudayaan manusia dalam pergaulan sosial masyarakat. Novel identik dengan sebuah karya sastra yang berbentuk prosa, cukup panjang, dan cerita serta tokoh-tokoh di dalamnya mayoritas adalah fiktif atau tidak nyata. Sebuah novel yang telah beredar di pasaran dan dibaca oleh masyarakat pasti akan mendapatkan penilaian dari anggota masyarakat tersebut. Novel yang penulis ulas pada final project ini berjudul The Stepford Wives karangan penulis novel dari Amerika Serikat, Ira Levin. Ira Levin telah menulis tujuh novel dan salah satunya adalah novel The Stepford Wives. Novel ini berkisah tentang perjuangan seorang wanita bernama Joanna Eberhart yang berusaha mengubah pola pikir istri-istri Stepford ke pola pikir yang lebih modern dan lebih luas dengan membentuk suatu organisasi perempuan. Pada book review ini, penulis membahas mengenai alur, cerita dan keberhasilan serta bahasa dari novel. Melalui book review novel The Stepford Wives, penulis berharap agar novel ini dapat dibaca oleh banyak pembaca dan para pembaca merasa tertarik dengan novel ini. Simpulannya, dengan alur yang mudah dipahami dan cerita yang menarik untuk dibaca. 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction consists of background of the writing, purposes of the writing, and short biography of Ira Levin and his books. 1.1 Background of the writing In 1960, the world of American women was limited in almost every respect, from family life to the workplace. American women who worked in 1960 were largely limited to jobs as teacher, nurse, or secretary. Women were generally unwelcome in professional fields (http://www.workforce.com/articles/the- women-s-movement-in-the-70s-today-you-ve-come-a-long-way-but accessed on 15 November 2013).
    [Show full text]