Marriage Is Still Acceptable

Nearly 50 years after Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique, a new book examines its original intentions and its influence on contemporary America: “Friedan is certainly not remembered as a marriage bolster, but this only strengthens why this biography of a book is necessary. Stephanie Coontz’s dusting off and airing out of the text that became a near-instant feminist legend provides us with an opportunity to reconsider the work and the circumstances it was borne out of, including its flaws as well as undeniable might.”