上海交通大学：《女性文学与性别文化》教学资源_课程资料_Betty Friedan and the making of the feminine mystique by Nancy Gabin.pdf_大学文库

Book Reviews 1389 legislation.How we could isolate this factor and port of Ronald Reagan's conservative policies. assess its primacy is not made clear by Wang. "No other writer,"I.F.Stone observed as early There is certainly evidence that other factors as 1939,"has been so successful in articulating were important in delaying passage of NsF leg- the feelings,doubts,dilemmas,hesitations, islation,and nothing in the literature or his- beliefs and gropings of the contemporary torical record that I have come across puts cen- middle-class Leftist intellectual."Lerner's one tral emphasis on loyalty requirements. aberration grew out of his lifelong career as a Daniel Lee Kleinman philanderer and sexual adventurer.He became Georgia Institute of Technology a public exponent of the sexual revolution in Atlanta,Georgia the 1970s,dividing his time between his home and second wife in Manhattan and various ref- uges in California,including Hugh Hefner's Max Lerner:Pilgrim in the Promised Land.By Playboy Mansion West.There he dabbled in Sanford Lakoff.(Chicago:University of Chi- trendy therapies,indulged his erotic desires,and cago Press,1998.xxii,323 pp.$25.00,IsBN 0- struggled to articulate a sexual utopianism. 226-46831-3.) Lakoff attempts to provide insights into Lerner's character but makes use of few sources Sanford Lakoff's honest and even-handed bi- beyond Lerner's own writings and collected ography of Max Lerner is a work of respect for papers.He had the cooperation of Lerner's fam- an old mentor.Lerner was a“household god” ily and friends and relies heavily upon Lerner's to Lakoff as a teenager in the 1940s and a char- journals,diaries,and an unpublished memoir. ismatic teacher whom he idolized as an under- (The book's opening chapter is a poignant ex- graduate at Brandeis University. tract from the latter document.)The result is Born in 1902 in Russia near Minsk on the an account of Lerner's life viewed very much Polish border,Lerner was,Lakoff writes,a through his own eyes.Even the "pilgrim"motif "pilgrim in the promised land,"possessing not is borrowed from Lerner.The book disap- only an "eclecticism,openness,restlessness, points as an intellectual biography and as a and adaptability"that was uniquely American study of character.There is no rich historical but also an immigrant's fascination with Amer- contextualization of Lerner's social or intel- ica.These qualities shaped his masterwork, lectual milieu,nor do we learn why Lerner's America as a Civilization (1957),a massive thought changes as it does,nor how it was study of American culture.While a young shaped by others.In the end,we never learn man,Lerner discovered the caustic writings of how to reconcile the sybaritic and celebrity- Thorstein Veblen and committed himself to conscious intellectual who at times verges on social criticism.He studied economics and en- self-parody with the humane and principled tered the academy but found political journal- liberal commentator. ism irresistible.He worked for the Nation and, Paul V.Murphy later,the New York-based PM,a sophisti- Grand Valley State University cated but short-lived daily beloved by liberals. Allendale,Michigan In 1948,Lerner became a columnist for the New York Post,for which he wrote until two months before his death in 1992. Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine A distinguished political scientist,Lakoff Mystique:The American Left,the Cold Wan ably chronicles Lerner's drift from the inde- and Modern Feminism.By Daniel Horowitz. pendent Left through Cold War liberalism and, (Amherst:University of Massachusetts Press, fnally,to an uneasy stance as a sort of neocon- 1998.x,355pp.$29.95,sBN1-55849-168-6.) servative fellow traveler.Lerner's political evo- lution was typical for many Jewish liberal in- The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is a tellectuals of his time,beginning with sympathy landmark work of the post-World War II era. for the Soviet Union,progressing through an Although many found the book liberating,its embrace of New Deal liberalism,followed by principal subjects were white,middle-class,well- disillusionment with the political and cultural educated,and unemployed married women liv- radicalism of the 1960s,and ending in sup- ing in affluent suburbs.By describing herself This content downloaded from 218.193.184.25 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:08:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviews 1389 legislation. How we could isolate this factor and assess its primacy is not made clear by Wang. There is certainly evidence that other factors were important in delaying passage of NSF legislation, and nothing in the literature or historical record that Ihave come across puts central emphasis on loyalty requirements. Daniel Lee Kleinman Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia Max Lerner: Pilgrim in the Promised Land. By Sanford Lakoff. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998. xxii, 323 pp. $25.00, ISBN 0- 226-46831-3.) Sanford Lakoff's honest and even-handed biography of Max Lerner is a work of respect for an old mentor. Lerner was a "household god" to Lakoff as a teenager in the 1940s and a charismatic teacher whom he idolized as an undergraduate at Brandeis University. Born in 1902 in Russia near Minsk on the Polish border, Lerner was, Lakoff writes, a "pilgrim in the promised land," possessing not only an "eclecticism, openness, restlessness, and adaptability" that was uniquely American but also an immigrant's fascination with America. These qualities shaped his masterwork, Americas a Civilization (1957), a massive study of American culture. While a young man, Lerner discovered the caustic writings of Thorstein Veblen and committed himself to social criticism. He studied economics and entered the academy but found political journalism irresistible. Heworked for the Nation and, later, the New York-based PM, a sophisticated but short-lived daily beloved by liberals. In 1948, Lerner became a columnist for the New York Post, for which he wrote until two months before his death in 1992. A distinguished political scientist, Lakoff ably chronicles Lerner's drift from the independent Left through Cold War liberalism and, finally, to an uneasy stance as a sort of neoconservative fellow traveler. Lerner's political evolution was typical for many Jewish liberal intellectuals ofhis time, beginning with sympathy for the Soviet Union, progressing through an embrace of New Deal liberalism, followed by disillusionment with the political and cultural radicalism of the 1960s, and ending in support of Ronald Reagan's conservative policies. "No other writer," I. F. Stone observed as early as 1939, "has been so successful in articulating the feelings, doubts, dilemmas, hesitations, beliefs and gropings of the contemporary middle-class Leftist intellectual." Lerner's one aberration grew out of his lifelong career as a philanderer and sexual adventurer. He became a public exponent of the sexual revolution in the 1970s, dividing his time between his home and second wife in Manhattan and various refuges in California, including Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion West. There he dabbled in trendy therapies, indulged his erotic desires, and struggled to articulate a sexual utopianism. Lakoff attempts to provide insights into Lerner's character but makes use of few sources beyond Lerner's own writings and collected papers. He had the cooperation of Lerner's family and friends and relies heavily upon Lerner's journals, diaries, and an unpublished memoir. (The book's opening chapter is a poignant extract from the latter document.) The result is an account of Lerner's life viewed very much through his own eyes. Even the "pilgrim" motif is borrowed from Lerner. The book disappoints as an intellectual biography and as a study of character. There is no rich historical contextualization of Lerner's social or intellectual milieu, nor do we learn why Lerner's thought changes as it does, nor how it was shaped by others. In the end, we never learn how to reconcile the sybaritic and celebrityconscious intellectual who at times verges on self-parody with the humane and principled liberal commentator. Paul V. Murphy Grand Valley State University Allendale, Michigan Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique: The American Left, the Cold War, and Modern Feminism. By Daniel Horowitz. (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1998. x, 355 pp. $29.95, ISBN 1-55849-168-6.) The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan is a landmark work of the post-World War II era. Although many found the book liberating, its principal subjects were white, middle-class, welleducated, and unemployed married women living in affluent suburbs. By describing herself This content downloaded from 218.193.184.25 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:08:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

1390 The Journal of American History December 1999 in these same terms,Friedan enhanced the nist movement of the late 1960s have been es- appeal of the book and her personal journey tablished for women in labor unions and groups from domestic captivity to professional inde- such as the Congress of American Women. pendence.Friedan's life,however,departed Horowitz advances that historiography with in significant ways from that of her subjects. deft and evocative descriptions of women's ex- Although she came from a middle-class back- perience of left-wing politics and culture in ground,graduated from Smith College,and set- the 1940s and 1950s and by limning Friedan's tled in suburban Rockland County with her place within that context.Yet even Horowitz professional husband and three children in the wonders whether Friedan's dissimulation was 1950s,Friedan also worked as a journalist,wrote part of a rhetorical strategy to promote the suc- about sex discrimination,and engaged in cess of The Feminine Mystigue or of a longer- liberal-to-leftist politics in the 1940s and 1950s. term deradicalization.It is also possible that Friedan omitted these details from her path- Horowitz is too credulous of Friedan's radical breaking book.She subsequently has avoided, politics and affinity for the working class.As minimized,or denied her own political back- appealing as the link between modern femi- ground and prior interest in women's issues. nism and a class-conscious,politically progres- In this well-researched and sympathetic bi- sive past may be,Betty Friedan simply may not ography,Daniel Horowitz,an intellectual his- be its best or even its least example. torian of postwar America,seeks "to connect a Nancy Gabin book to a life."He closely examines Friedan's Purdue乙miversity writings and her social and political milieux for West Lafayette,Indiana influence and evidence of left-wing and femi- nist ideas.Horowitz describes a steady pro- gression from anti-Semitism to antifascism to unionism to feminism,an intellectual trajec- Selling Catholicism:Bishop Sheen and the Power tory that he says owed as much if not more to of Television.By Christopher Owen Lynch.(Lex- the Old Left than to the stifling,conformist, ington:University Press of Kentucky,1998 and apolitical environment of the postwar xi,200pp.$24.95,1sBN0-8131-2067-5.) suburbs.Horowitz attributes Friedan's deceit about her past to various factors.Anticommu- American Catholicism experienced a coming nism,he suggests,silenced left-wing social of age in the 1950s,when many Catholics left critics such as Friedan and made them fearful behind immigrant and working-class neigh- of exposure.Male chauvinism in unions also borhoods and moved into the ranks of the mid- disillusioned and chastened Popular Front dle class.The GI Bill of Rights and postwar eco- feminists such as Friedan.Psychotherapy in nomic expansion made economic mobility and the 1950s,moreover,prompted Friedan to be- higher education possible.Given the past his- lieve that the self who had been a labor jour- torical hostility and discrimination toward Cath- nalist for ten years was not authentic"and to olics and the tense Protestant-Catholic rela- regard that period as a moratorium.Horowitz tions,Catholics'arrival into the economic and also admits that Friedan may have reinvented educational mainstream required recasting the herself to make her book,and later the femi- debate over Catholicism's place in America. nist movement of which she was a leader,more Bishop Fulton J.Sheen played a significant role dramatic and more appealing. in this dialogue.His weekly television program, These explanations are plausible but to a “Life is Worth Living,”which aired from 1952 certain extent speculative.Although Horowitz to 1957,sought to reconcile traditional Catholic examined Friedan's papers at the Schlesinger teaching with American values and to provide Library and interviewed her,he lost access to a set of eternal values as a guidepost for life in her and to other written evidence when she an era of cultural change. detected his interest in her concealed past. Sheen was among the first preachers to use This problem notwithstanding,Horowitz has television to carry his message.Since part of his written an important book.The connections goal was to make Catholicism more under- between the Left of the 1940s and the femi- standable and acceptable to Protestants and to This content downloaded from 218.193.184.25 on Sat,16 Jan 2016 12:08:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

1390 The Journal of American History December 1999 in these same terms, Friedan enhanced the appeal of the book and her personal journey from domesticaptivity to professional independence. Friedan's life, however, departed in significant ways from that of her subjects. Although she came from amiddle-class background, graduated from Smith College, and settled in suburban Rockland County with her professional husband and three children in the 1950s, Friedan also worked as a journalist, wrote about sex discrimination, and engaged in liberal-to-leftist poliics in the 1940s and 1950s. Friedan omitted these details from her pathbreaking book. She subsequently has avoided, minimized, or denied her own political background and prior interest in women's issues. In this well-researched and sympathetic biography, Daniel Horowitz, an intellectual historian of postwar America, seeks "to connect a book to a life." He closely examines Friedan's writings and her social and political milieux for influence and evidence of left-wing and feminist ideas. Horowitz describes asteady progression from anti-Semitism to antifascism to unionism to feminism, an intellectual trajectory that he says owed as much if not more to the Old Left than to the stifling, conformist, and apolitical environment of the postwar suburbs. Horowitz attributes Friedan's deceit about her past to various factors. Anticommunism, he suggests, silenced left-wing social critics such as Friedan and made them fearful of exposure. Male chauvinism in unions also disillusioned and chastened Popular Front feminists such as Friedan. Psychotherapy in the 1950s, moreover, prompted Friedan to believe that "the self who had been a labor journalist for ten years was not authentic" and to regard that period as a moratorium. Horowitz also admits that Friedan may have reinvented herself to make her book, and later the feminist movement of which she was a leader, more dramatic and more appealing. These explanations are plausible but to a certain extent speculative. Although Horowitz examined Friedan's papers at the Schlesinger Library and interviewed her, he lost access to her and to other written evidence when she detected his interest in her concealed past. This problem notwithstanding, Horowitz has written an important book. The connections between the Left of the 1940s and the feminist movement of the late 1 960s have been established for women in labor unions and groups such as the Congress of American Women. Horowitz advances that historiography with deft and evocative descriptions ofwomen's experience of left-wing politics and culture in the 1940s and 1950s and by limning Friedan's place within that context. Yet even Horowitz wonders whether Friedan's dissimulation was part of a rhetorical strategy topromote the success of The Feminine Mystique or of a longerterm deradicalization. Itis also possible that Horowitz is too credulous of Friedan's radical politics and affinity for the working class. As appealing as the link between modern feminism and a class-conscious, politically progressive past may be, Betty Friedan simply may not be its best or even its least example. Nancy Gabin Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Selling Catholicism: Bishop Sheen and the Power of Television. ByChristopher Owen Lynch. (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 1998. xii, 200 pp. $24.95, ISBN 0-8131-2067-5.) American Catholicism experienced a coming of age in the 1950s, when many Catholics left behind immigrant and working-class neighborhoods and moved into the ranks of the middle class. The GI Bill of Rights and postwar economic expansion made economic mobility and higher education possible. Given the past historical hostility and discrimination tward Catholics and the tense Protestant-Catholic relations, Catholics' arrival into the economic and educational mainstream required recasting the debate over Catholicism's place in America. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen played asignificant role in this dialogue. His weekly television program, "Life is Worth Living," which aired from 1952 to 1957, sought to reconcile traditional Catholic teaching with American values and to provide a set of eternal values as a guidepost for life in an era of cultural change. Sheen was among the first preachers to use television to carry his message. Since part of his goal was to make Catholicism more understandable and acceptable to Protestants and to This content downloaded from 218.193.184.25 on Sat, 16 Jan 2016 12:08:01 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions