After 5 years of collecting information, material and interviews, the foundations of The Feminine Mystique were formed. The results she collected formed the basis of The Feminine Mystique. At a school reunion, she surveyed other women who graduated the same year as she did, to see how satisfied with the way their lives had panned out. She felt restless and began to wonder whether many other women felt the same way – like they were both willing and capable of being more than a stay-at-home mother. The idea of the book came around when she was a stay at home mother after losing her job after her second child was born. Friedan broke new ground with her book although it was incredibly controversial, with many not agreeing with the ideas expressed for various reasons. This 50th–anniversary edition features an afterword by best-selling author Anna Quindlen as well as a new introduction by Gail Collins.“The Feminine Mystique” is the first book written by Betty Friedan and addresses the topic of feminism and fulfilment beyond traditional roles for women. Part social chronicle, part manifesto, The Feminine Mystique is filled with fascinating anecdotes and interviews as well as insights that continue to inspire. Writing in a time when the average woman first married in her teens and 60 percent of women students dropped out of college to marry, Betty Friedan captured the frustrations and thwarted ambitions of a generation and showed women how they could reclaim their lives.
Published in 1963, it gave a pitch-perfect description of "the problem that has no name": the insidious beliefs and institutions that undermined women's confidence in their intellectual capabilities and kept them in the home. Landmark, groundbreaking, classic-these adjectives barely do justice to the pioneering vision and lasting impact of The Feminine Mystique. "If you've never read it, read it now." -Arianna Huffington, O, The Oprah Magazine
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