[Ik houd niet zo van de boeken van Ira Levin, evenmin van die van de inleider Chuck Palahniuk. Er hangt teveel een Amerikaanse stoeremannetjessfeer in de inhoud van hun boeken, teveel liefde voor horror ook.]

(5) Revisionist herstory - Everywhere is stepford [Chuck Palahniuk]

"In 1972 Ira Levin told us what lay ahead. Oh, he sounded a loud, clear warning about some pent-up male reaction to the Women’s Liberation movement.
In 1972 Levin’s outlandish – but not too outlandish – idea of men counterattacking feminists was dubbed The Stepford Wives. Such a silly idea his was, that hostile husbands, afraid of losing control over their liberated wives, would murder those wives and replace them with pretty, painted dolls. These dolls would boast hourglass figures, and dress stylishly and immaculately. Those vapid dollies would enjoy nothing so much as shopping and housekeeping. Those glazed, pretty dolls, actually robots, would be subservient to men. That became the enduring metaphor: The Stepford Wives. A Stepford Wife. Even as the pretty, former fashion model Martha Stewart smiled and polished silver, validating the role of Domestic Goddess to a new generation, the taint was always there … a Stepford Wife looked so calm and organized, so lovely and buxom, but she wasn’t really alive." [mijn nadruk] (8)

"In 1972 American women were nothing if not alive. So much of 1970s feminism was about the physical body, women accepting and celebrating their carnal selves. Here was the era of Our Bodies, Ourselves and the Feminist Women’s Health Centre. For women the physical was political, from breast self-examination to at home briskly extracting one’s menses with a single use of the Karman cannula. The speculum became a tool of political discourse in exploring the cervix, the os, the urethral sponge. The debate pitched vaginal orgasms against clitoral orgasms. Masturbation became a political action.
And nipples … brassieres were burning and nipples were sighted everywhere. And camel toe: hot pants were everywhere and so was camel toe. We’d banished the girdle and the garter belt. The push was on to ban the razor, and brandishing hairy armpits became a radical political statement.
No one wanted to be crowned Miss America. The Playboy Bunny was an antiquated joke. A woman’s place was on the picket line, and it’s no wonder men were scared.
Enter Ira Levin with his cautionary tale about husbands seeking retribution."(10)

[In feite is dit boek dus een reactionair verhaal waarin het feminisme gewantrouwd moet worden en vrouwen eigenlijk heel iets anders willen dan feministes zeggen?]

"Nope, no way, we can’t say Ira Levin didn’t warn us this was coming …
Nevertheless, it’s odd how the bookshelves are filling with pretty dolls. Those glazed pretty dolls wearing their stylish designer outfits – Prada and Chanel and Dolce – swilling their martinis and flirting, flirting, flirting in their supreme effort to catch a rich husband. Always a rich husband. Instead of political rights, they’re fighting for Jimmie Choos. In lieu of protest, they express themselves through shopping. And men, they’re no longer the oppressors – these days other women are, older women. In The Nanny Diaries and The Devil Wears Prada and Confessions of a Shopaholic, in this new generation of ‘chick lit’ novels, men are once more the goal. It’s successful women who torment our pretty, painted narrators. Brassieres are back, as are girdles, eyelash curlers, perfumed and meticulously shaved underarms. The speculum and the cervix are forgotten. This it seems is progress: women may now choose to be pretty, stylishly dressed, and vapid. This is no longer the shrill, politically charged climate of 1972; if it’s a choice freely made, then it’s … okay."(18)

"Even the remake of the Stepford Wives movie in 2004 casts an older female character as the ultimate villain. As a Martha Stewart-type, she only wants to make the world a pretty, genteel place, free from the strife of women’s liberation. Glenn Close plays the bad guy, as does Miranda Priestly, as did Amanda Farrow in 1959’s The Best of Everything. Women are the ultimate threat to women. The Stepford remake is, of course, a comedy.
Now everyplace is Stepford, but it’s okay. It’s fine. This is what the modern politically aware, fully awake, enlightened, assertive woman really, really, really wants: a manicure.
We can’t say Ira Levin didn’t warn us."(21)

[Wat was die waarschuwing van Levin dan wel? Dat vrouwen niet zijn wat feministes zeiden? Dat ze inderdaad niks anders willen dan een manicure? Dat is wel een bijzonder oppervlakkige en kritiekloze dystopie dan. ]

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(23) One

Als Joanna Eberhart aankomt in Stepford wordt ze geïnterviewd. Op de vraag of ze nog hobby's heeft zegt ze:

"Joanna smiled. ‘That means an agency handles three of my pictures,’ she said. ‘And I’m interested in politics and in the Women’s Liberation movement. Very much so in that. And so is my husband.’
‘He is?’ The Welcome Wagon lady looked at her.
‘Yes,’ Joanna said. ‘Lots of men are.’"(28)

Walter wil lid worden van de Men's Association, een club waar vrouwen heel ouderwets niet mogen komen, met de smoes dat hij dat van binnenuit kan veranderen.

"He put his arm around her shoulders and said, ‘Hold off a little while. If it’s not open to women in six months, I’ll quit and we’ll march together. Shoulder to shoulder. “Sex, yes; sexism, no”.’"(46)

Ze praat met een buurvrouw, Carol van Sant.

"‘That Carol Van Sant is not to be believed,’ she said. ‘She can’t come over for a cup of coffee because she has to wax the family-room floor. Ted goes to the Men’s Association every night and she stays home doing housework.’"(60)

Als Walter naar de club is doet ze dingen die ze leuk vindt. Hij komt pas laat thuis. Ze wordt wakker van hem.

"The bed was shaking. She lay in the dark seeing the darker dark of the open bathroom door, and the glint of the dresser’s handles, and the bed kept shaking her in a slow steady rhythm, each shake accompanied by a faint spring-squeak, again and again and again. It was Walter who was shaking! He had a fever! Or the d.t.’s? She spun around and leaned to him on one arm, staring, reaching to find his brow. His eye-whites looked at her and turned instantly away; all of him turned from her, and the tenting of the blanket at his groin was gone as she saw it, replaced by the shape of his hip. The bed became still.
He had been – masturbating?
She didn’t know what to say."(84)

"‘You could have,’ she said. ‘Woke me. I wouldn’t have minded.’
He didn’t say anything.
‘Gee whiz, you don’t have to do that,’ she said."(87)

Joanna maakt kennis met Bobbie Markowe. Bobby komt op bezoek.

"‘The Men’s Association!’ Bobbie cried.
They talked about it – the antiquated sexist unfairness of it, the real injustice, in a town with no women’s organization, not even a League of Women Voters. ‘Believe me, I’ve combed this place,’ Bobbie said."(101)

"Wouldn’t it be great if we could get a group together – maybe even a NOW chapter eventually – and give that Men’s Association a good shaking-up? Dave and Walter are kidding themselves; it’s not going to change unless it’s forced to change; fat-cat organizations never do. What do you say, Joanna? Let’s ask around.’"(105)

Joanna praat met allerlei vrouwen in haar buurt.

"All of them turned her down; they either had too little time or too little interest to meet with other women and talk about their shared experiences."(117)

Op een gegeven moment heeft Walter thuis een bijeenkomst met een commissie van The Men's Association. Ze ontmoet ook Charmaine. En bij het opruimen van een oude opslagruimte ontdekt ze een deel van een krant met een artikel over de Vrouwenclub die er ooit was in Stepford. Het is niet duidelijk van wanneer die krant is.

"She read for another moment, and looked at him; and looked at the paper, and at him. ‘There was – a women’s club here,’ she said. ‘Betty Friedan spoke to them. And Kit Sundersen was the president. Dale Coba’s wife and Frank Roddenberry’s wife were officers.’
‘Are you kidding?’ he said.
She looked at the paper, and read: ‘“Betty Friedan, the author of The Feminine Mystique, addressed members of the Stepford Women’s Club Tuesday evening in the Fairview Lane home of Mrs Herbert Sundersen, the club’s president. Over fifty women applauded Mrs Friedan as she cited the inequities and frustrations besetting the modern-day housewife …”’ She looked at him."(184)

Ze wil weten wat er gebeurde met die vijftig vrouwen. Ze vraagt het aan de vroegere voorzitter Kit. Die zegt alleen maar dat ze het niet meer interessant vonden.

"That’s what she was, Joanna felt suddenly. That’s what they all were, all the Stepford wives: actresses in commercials, pleased with detergents and floor wax, with cleansers, shampoos, and deodorants. Pretty actresses, big in the bosom but small in the talent, playing suburban housewives unconvincingly, too nicey-nice to be real."(208)

Via een vroegere huishoudster hoort ze dat de Man's Association pas bestaat.

"‘But it’s a very old organization, isn’t it?’ Joanna said, tossing salad at arm’s length because of her dress.
‘Are you kidding?’ Mary said. ‘It’s new! Six or seven years, that’s all. Before, there was the Civic Association and the Elks and the Legion’ – she toothpicked shrimp with machine-like rapidity – ‘but they all merged in with it once it got going. Except the Legion; they’re still separate. Six or seven years, that’s all."(237)

Charmaine gaat een tijdje met vakantie met haar Ed. Als Joanne haar weer ontmoet is ze ineens een model huisvrouw geworden zoals alle andere. Joanne en Bobbie hebben het er over. Bobbie denkt dat er iets in de lucht of in het water zit.

"‘There’s something,’ Bobbie said. ‘In the ground, in the water, in the air – I don’t know. It makes women interested in housekeeping and nothing else but. Who knows what chemicals can do? Nobel-prize winners don’t even really know yet. Maybe it’s some kind of hormone thing; that would explain the fantastic boobs. You’ve got to have noticed.’
‘I sure have,’ Joanna said. ‘I feel pre-adolescent every time I set foot in the market.’"(272)

(307) Two

Bobbie is in paniek en wil verhuizen. Joanna ook, maar heeft minder haast. Ze zoeken in andere dorpen en steden naar woningen. De vrouwen zijn daar heel anders valt hen op. Op een gegeven moment vraagt Bobbie of ze op haar kind wil passen omdat ze een weekendje met haar man Dave wil doorbrengen.

"‘Dave’s had a brainstorm; we’re going to have a weekend alone, just the two of us. Second-honeymoon time.’
A sense of beforeness touched her; déjà vu. She brushed it away. ‘That’s great,’ she said."(325)

Joanne leert nieuweling Ruthanne Hendry kennen, een schrijfster van kinderboeken. Bobbie blijkt na haar weekeinde met Dave ook veranderd in een Stepford vrouw. Nu is Joanna erg gealarmeerd. Ze wil meteen weg uit Stepford. Maar Walter blijkt ook veranderd. Hij weigert mee te werken, begint over haar uiterlijk dat ook wel wat vrouwelijker kan, over een psychiater die zou kunnen helpen omdat ze zich irrationeel opstelt, en zo meer. Ze gaat nog naar zo'n psychiater ook.

"She drew her hands apart and wiped them on her skirt. ‘I’ve begun to suspect that the men are behind it,’ she said. She looked at Dr Fancher.
Dr Fancher didn’t smile or seem surprised. ‘Which men?’ she asked.
Joanna looked at her hands. ‘My husband,’ she said. ‘Bobbie’s husband, Charmaine’s.’ She looked at Dr Fancher. ‘All of them,’ she said.
She told her about the Men’s Association."(428)

"Joanna said, ‘I know it sounds—’ She rubbed her temple.
‘It sounds,’ Dr Fancher said, ‘like the idea of a woman who, like many women today, and with good reason, feels a deep resentment and suspicion of men. One who’s pulled two ways by conflicting demands, perhaps more strongly than she’s aware; the old conventions on the one hand, and the new conventions of the liberated woman on the other.’"(436)

[De psychiater die alles gladstrijkt... Ze adviseert therapie en geeft pillen.]

In de bibliotheek zoekt Joanne oude jaargangen op van het lokale blad Chroniclesen ontdekte dat al die mannen bij bepaalde lokale bedrijven werken die hubots kunnen maken. Als ze thuis komt wil ze meteen met haar kinderen weg, maar die zijn niet thuis.

"‘The robot! Oh very good; attorney surprised by a new allegation. You’re wasting yourself in trusts and estates; you belong in a courtroom. What does it cost? Would you tell me? I’m dying to know. What’s the going price for a stay-in-the-kitchen wife with big boobs and no demands? A fortune, I’ll bet. Or do they do it dirt cheap, out of that good old Men’s Association spirit? And what happens to the real ones? The incinerator? Stepford Pond?’"(489)

Ze vlucht weg naar Ruthanne. Alle mannen gaan op zoek naar haar. Drie krijgen haar te pakken. Ze ontkennen te doen wat zij denkt

"The man in the middle was speaking. ‘We know about this idea you’ve got. It’s wrong, Mrs Eberhart. Believe me, it’s just not so.’
‘Nobody’s making robots,’ Frank said.
‘You must think we’re a hell of a lot smarter than we really are,’ the man in the middle said. ‘Robots that can drive cars? And cook meals? And trim kids’ hair?’
‘And so real-looking that the kids wouldn’t notice?’ the third man said. He was short and wide.
‘You must think we’re a townful of geniuses,’ the man in the middle said. ‘Believe me, we’re not.’"(519)

Ze stellen voor dat ze het pand van de mannenclub helemaal mag onderzoeken. Of dat iemand als Bobbie zichzelf snijdt en dat ze dus geen robot is als ze zal bloeden.

"‘I guess it’s – not a b-bad idea,’ Frank said. ‘We could speak to Mrs Markowe …’
‘She won’t bleed,’ Joanna said.
‘She will,’ the man in the middle said. ‘And when she does, you’ll know you’re wrong and you’ll let us take you home to Walter, without any arguments.’
‘If she does,’ she said. ‘Yes.’"(533)

Ze komen daar en Joanna zoekt Bobbie op. Die wil wel meewerken en pakt een groot mes.

(549) Three

Ruthanne komt Joanne in het winkelcentrum tegen. Joanne is nu ook een Stepford vrouw.

"‘Nothing, really,’ Joanna said. ‘Housework’s enough for me. I used to feel I had to have other interests, but I’m more at ease with myself now. I’m much happier too, and so is my family. That’s what counts, isn’t it?’"(558)

Ruthanne vraagt zich af wat er aan de hand is. Thuisgekomen werkt ze aan haar nieuwe kinderboek, maar dat lukt niet zo. Ze vraagt haar man Royal om de kinderen mee naar McDonalds te nemen zodat ze het boek kan afmaken.

"‘I want to get it done with,’ she said. ‘Otherwise I won’t enjoy next weekend.’"(562)

[Dus ook Ruthanne is op weg een Stepford vrouw te worden. Geen happy end hier, zoals in de film. Dat had ik ook niet verwacht van Ira Levin. Hij wil dat mannen blijvend de macht hebben en de dienst uitmaken voor vrouwen en dat vrouwen Stepford-vrouwen zijn.]