The Stepford Wives is one of those sci-fi books you have heard of, and may not have read. For a long time, that was me, I kind of knew the plot and so felt like I didn’t need to read it. But, you definitely should because this was thrilling and way creepier than I had expected.
Quick Info
- Title: The Stepford Wives
- Author: Ira Levin
- Publish Date: 1st September 1972
- Genre: Sci-fi
- Sub-Genre: Speculative/robots
- Pages: 139
- What to Expect:
- Cult-like town
- Feminist themes
- Men are the monsters
– Rating: 4 stars –
Trigger Warnings
Gaslighting, misogyny, sexism, sexual content, murder, domestic abuse, racism, body shaming
If I have missed any out or you feel like something should be added, please leave a comment.
Synopsis
Joanna, her husband, Walter, and their two children move to the idyllic town of Stepford, where everything seems too good to be true. From the cheerful welcome wagon lady to the cheerful, friendly faces in the supermarket checkout lines. But beneath the town’s surface, something is sordid and wrong and it all leads back to the men’s association.
My Thoughts
This has been on my shelf for a while and I decided to pick it up. Even though, I knew a lot about the plot and the themes, I still found this thrilling and eerie. It’s only 139 pages but it packs a punch and it’s easy to see why it’s considered a classic.
Joanna is a well balanced character. She has her own hobbies, friends and beliefs, she is opinionated and is adamantly against the men’s association. Yet, doesn’t initially jump to the most extreme conclusions, she is a grounded character. Bobbie, her friend, initially suggests something is very wrong with the town, and the women specifically, Joanna dismisses it. I liked that though, she is a grounded character, who is realistic in this way.
Walter likewise is an interesting character. He is very much characterized by how he interacts with Joanna, we never really see him interact with any men one to one. His character development is completely unseen, but again, I like that. It adds to the themes whilst driving home to the point that you might not always see the changes in the people you are closest to. There is a point in the story where Joanna realizes he has changed, and only then do we start to see his true character.
The feminist themes are still strong today and with many books this year (2026) exploring themes of marriage and trad wives. I think this holds up in a lot of ways. There was some slightly outdated parts, but really this is just as relevant today as it was in 1972.
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