Analysis Of Betty Friedan´s The Feminine Mystique

“A woman has got to be able to say, and not feel guilty, ‘Who am I, and what do I want our of life?’ She must not feel selfish and neurotic if she wants goals of her own, outside of her husband and children.”(The Associated Press 1) When Betty Friedan proposed this idea in her book, The Feminine Mystique, she sparked the controversy surrounding one of the most significant but inconspicuous issues in post World War II American society. Americans sought to alleviate the trauma from the war by devoting their time to raising a family, which led to a major increase in birth rate between the years of 1946 and 1964, confining women to raising their many children. Any woman who pursued a career was referred to as unattractive and envious of men (“Women at Work After World War II” 1). Increasingly, women felt jaded and

dissatisfied by their roles as housewives. However, they couldn’t articulate the cause of their unhappiness, “the problem that has no name” as Friedan put it (15). Because Friedan expressed women’s situation contrary to society’s beliefs, she was met with criticism. A similar situation is found in Henrik Ibsen’s play, An Enemy of the People. When Dr. Stockmann discovered the contamination in the baths and proposed his findings, he initiated the controversy that became the most critical issue of his town. Dr. Stockmann’s remedy was unpalatable to the people of the town, due to the cost, and was thus labeled “An Enemy of The People” (Ibsen). The condition of women after World War II inspired Friedan to write The Feminine Mystique through which she criticized society’s portrayals and expectations of women, in turn for which she was critiqued, that sparked second wave feminism by getting women to realize what their problem really was: They can no longer ignore that voice in their head that said, “I want something more than my husband, my children, and my home” (Friedan 32).
Friedan was motivated to criticize society in The Feminine Mystique because of the image society created of the ideal woman, through various forms of media and its effects on women.

Friedan called this image “The Feminine Mystique” (1). The media epitomized a satisfied woman as one whose life revolved around her home and family (Friedan 34). This ideal caused many problems for women that can be labeled as “the problem that has no name” (Friedan 16). Friedan described this problem, “It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered… ”, demonstrating how the American society depicted women(15). Friedan believed that this depiction of the ideal woman was pitiful and called for reform, “When she stopped conforming to the conventional picture of femininity she finally began to enjoy being a woman” (339). Friedan also experienced the problem firsthand. She had once settled down as a housewife but she soon found that a life of a housewife was “…drab and dumb” (Friedan 157). These experiences enabled her to relate to the dissatisfaction women were feeling, and inspired her to criticize the ideals which she too once

followed.
Betty Friedan criticized the society which she and many other women were displeased with. In The Feminine Mystique, Freidan berates society on how it limits women, “…our culture does not permit women to accept of gratify their basic need to grow and fulfill their potentialities…” (77). This quote exemplifies how Freidan located the problem in society’s culture; on how it did not permit women to grow and fulfill their potential, and then continued to demonstrate how this problem affected women negatively by not allowing them to gratify their basic need to grow and fulfill themselves. In another quote, Friedan criticizes society for forcing women to conform to The Feminine Mystique, instead of independently charting out their own trajectory in life, “The expectations of feminine fulfillment that are fed to women…preventing them from achieving the maturity of which they are capable.” (77). This quote demonstrates social criticism on account of society’s expectations of feminine fulfillment, and shows how the expectations are detrimental to women by stating that it prevents them from achieving their capacity to mature. The social criticism of Friedan brought the problem into the light, that women should conform to their own ideals and not society’s, and therefore impacted women in the future.
Friedan’s criticism continued to influence future generations of women. The central idea of Friedan’s criticism was that “All people deserve to pursue work that helps fulfill their human potential” (Nanette 1). This idea resonated in the minds of women and sparked the 1960’s feminist movement because it transformed women’s consciousness (Coontz 1). Friedan’s criticism enlightened women, telling them that their problem was in conforming to society’s image of a satisfied woman, rather than their own. Women were set free to find self-fulfilling work. For many, it meant going back to work, which enabled women to freely advocate for their rights without fear of husband’s disapproval. Friedan was criticized for articulating the dangers of The Feminine Mystique. One critique said, “Betty Friedan is all wet. If most mothers followed her advice, divorce would increase.”(Wolf 1) Another critique ridiculed her saying she was, “An angry battler for her sex” (Norton 1). They perceived her criticisms to be deadly for society, and thus characterized her as an enemy of the people.(Berman 2)
Friedan criticized society’s expectations and portrayals of women in The Feminine Mystique and sparked the second wave of feminist movement by elucidating to them that they should be free to attain their own fulfillment. She was faced with criticism for expressing her ideas. The enlightened women, inspired and informed by Friedan’s criticisms, started the 1960’s feminist movement, paving the way for future generations of women to find contentment. Friedan’s criticisms established that, “…the voices of the feminine mystique can no longer drown out the inner voice that is driving women to become complete” (Friedan).