Ira Levin -The Stepford Wives - Review

It is said that a predominate adolescent male fantasy is a large-breasted, sexually compliant haus frau, maintaining a spotless home, an efficient mother, and has the non-combative demeanour of a saint. This fantasy exceeds the imaginings of the post-pubescent, lingering unconsciously or otherwise in the mind-set of middle aged men across the world. In Levin's novella, this wish becomes fulfilment, where groin and brain unite in the creation of the “perfect woman”.

Upon the novella's publication in 1972, the height of the feminist movement, critics believed its focus was the “oppressed woman”, as mere concubine and maid. On closer examination, the book is satirizing the advertising industry, and their manufactured image of the “ideal” housewife or woman, ensuring immaculate, and clean households consuming the products they sell. Even today we can view two home-makers arguing the features and benefits of one toilet bowl cleaner over another. And these women are portrayed as super-housewives, juggling several duties, including child rearing, while driving a Toyota Land Cruiser, and all looking damn beautiful in the process.

Levin's second satirical focus is on the Stepford husbands. Now these thirty to forty something suburban males are hilarious to the point of absurdity. All Stepford husbands belong to the town's “men's association”, a no-girls allowed, cubby house type set-up, to discuss and plan all things “male”. One is reminded of neighbourhood gatherings, barbecues, where the women are grouped together on one side of the yard and the men on the other, only talking amongst each other like clueless boys.

Indeed, The Stepford wives is a direct hit on the media/advertising generated images of consumerist based societies, relentlessly flogging normative middle-class values in what constitutes a perfect world, in their dogged pursuit of the bottom line.

The town of Stepford is decorated in Colonial shop fronts, manicured lawns and white picket fences, maintained by big-breasted, robotic house wives, living the dream, and pushing the benefits of the latest dish washing liquid, docile, sexy and happy.