December - The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow
Virginia Desmarais is the wrong kind of woman. Though I guess since the novel is set in 1970, as the feminist movement started gaining traction, it might seem like every woman was the wrong kind. The homemaker, next door to Virginia, content in her traditional role, was the wrong kind. The radical faculty women at the local college were the wrong kind, and the young woman planning bombings was the wrong kind. Virginia was trying to figure out where she fit in.
Though I lived through this era as a teenager, I always felt that I missed it. The uprisings and violence only on television and not part of my world. This novel takes us back to that era and provides a snapshot of the impact of the changes even in a town that imagines itself sheltered from the impact.
When Virginia married Oliver, she gave up some of her interests. Oliver didn't. She moved to a small New England town for his career and to raise their daughter, Rebecca. She didn’t finish her thesis. At the time, it didn’t seem like she was making sacrifices. She was doing what needed to be done for their family and for their shared life together.
When Oliver drops dead while hanging up Christmas lights, their plans fall apart as the world seems to be falling apart. The women’s movement occurred during the same time as the protests against the Viet Nam war and the draft.
As Virginia thinks about who she is now that she is no longer Oliver’s wife, she thinks back. It seems inevitable that as she tries to see her way forward without him, she would look back to who she was before she met him. Only after Oliver has died can she recognize that she gave up a part of herself so that her family could flourish.
Virginia begins to see the ease with which society has denied a voice to women. She starts to explore avenues for finishing her thesis. In a new direction, a direction that her male advisor had steered her away from years earlier. Virginia has to balance work, study, and single parenting. And she navigates these personal challenges in a setting of social unrest. On top of these concerns, Virginia has to help Rebecca process her grief for her father and deal with the teenager’s opinions and judgments about every decision her mother makes.
The Wrong Kind of Woman gives us a window into the 70s and reminds us of the violence and the unrest that was a pre-requisite to raising awareness of social injustice.
The Wrong Kind of Woman is a story about one woman’s battle to find her way during the turmoil, but it also tells a bigger story about self-acceptance and strength in facing the unknown. A good reminder that change isn’t always easy or pretty, calm, or organized. A good read for 2020.
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