Synopsis: Walter and Joanna Eberhart have just moved from “the city” to a quiet town called Stepford. The families who live in Stepford are idyllic, and Joanna just doesn’t fit in. She’s a proponent of women’s liberation and is a semi-professional photographer. The women of Stepford are always put together, they never yell at their families, and they spend every waking moment cleaning the house; sometimes night is the only time one can wax the floors.

Then Joanna meets Bobbie Markowe, a woman who doesn’t have it all together just like Joanna. They bond over their messy homes and the confusion about the town’s other women. Joanna believes she has finally found a friend to confide in while her husband, and all of the men of the town, spend their nights at the Men’s Association where no women are allowed. Soon though the two women are driven to a cliff edge where they must choose to turn back or plummet into an unending abyss of eternal cleaning.

My Thoughts: I’m usually one to read books before I watch the movie. And yes, I DO think the book is usually better. However, I watched the film version starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick a couple of months before getting to read this. I won’t take anyone’s time reviewing the movie, but I will say that when the credits rolled I had lost all interest in reading this book.

Boy, am I glad I didn’t give into that disinterest! The book is clever, harrowing, and at times downright frightening. The book is a classic example of a psychological thriller. Joanna is thrust into a new world, unsure how to adapt. Over time she is exposed to strange behavior that possesses the entire town. With each interaction, she grows more paranoid until she reaches a breaking point and demands to leave Stepford in the middle of the night. When Joanna is trapped, whether by social conventions or a man simply standing in her way, the reader experiences the same claustrophobia.

I picked up two major themes from The Stepford Wives that I think are as relevant today as they were when the book was published in 1972. The first is society’s pursuit of perceived perfection and beauty. The men and women of Stepford put their entire energy into making sure their homes and bodies are perfect. Meanwhile, the inside of the women are empty, and the men are evil and cruel. 52 years later many people are trying to put their ideal selves forward on social media to appear as something they aren’t, and whether it’s 1972 or 2024 the outcome is never good.

The second theme to touch on is the balance of selfness and selflessness. The women of Stepford are expected to act selflessly at the expense of their own needs and desires. There is nothing wrong with a woman wanting to stay home to care for her family and home. Today there are still women who make that choice and are happy and fulfilled. The danger that comes is swinging too far to the opposite side of the pendulum and focusing only on one’s self as a rebellion against societal expectations. Near the end of the story Joanna becomes so focused on her desire to flee Stepford that she abandons her husband and children.

Clocking in at a lean 123 pages The Stepford Wives can be a quick read. But I would encourage any reader to take their time with the text and absorb the lessons we can learn from this story.