The Female Persuasion Themes

Meg Wolitzer’s The Female Persuasion is written with a parodic and often scathing eye turned toward contemporary feminism and what it means to be a “good” feminist. Throughout the novel, being an ally toward other women—loving them, helping them, teaching them—is held up as the main tenet of “good feminism.” As the story progresses, however, the triad of women at its heart—Greer Kadetsky, her mentor Faith Frank, and her college friend Zee…

In The Female Persuasion, the main characters’ families are almost all struggling with intense issues related to trauma, pain, inadequacy, and shame. Greer Kadetsy’s stoner parents find themselves bewildered and intimidated by their type-A, go-getter child. Greer seeks refuge in her boyfriend Cory Pinto’s family, who provide a haven of relative stability, normalcy, and encouragement—that is, until Cory’s younger brother Alby dies in a tragic accident. Zee Eisenstat’s parents—both judges—have difficulty…

The Female Persuasion is full of characters who consider themselves activists or who aspire to activism. Faith Frank is a revered crusader for women’s rights, and when she comes to speak at Greer Kadetsky and Zee Eisenstat’s college, it lights a fire in both young women’s hearts that will change the course of their lives forever. After college, however, when Greer joins Loci (Faith’s somewhat nebulous women’s organization) and Zee pursues on-the-ground activism as…