An Old Wives Tale by Midge Decter

An Old Wives Tale by Midge Decter

Over the past few years, young voices from Katie Roiphe to Wendy Shalit have started to question the assumptions of women's lives since the advent of feminism and the sexual revolution. But how did we get from there to here? A well-known essayist, editor, and lecturer, Midge Decter's conservative stands on modern social issues have historically raised controversy. An Old Wife's Tale is her thoughtful, pointed examination of the role of women over the last sixty years, as viewed through the lens of her own life. From stories of her youth during after World War I to wry observations about the supposedly oppressed housewives who were her peers in suburban Long Island, to analysis of her later roles as single mother, publishing executive, happily married woman, and doting grandmother, Decter takes unstinting aim at those who in her view have completely reordered the roles and expectations of both men and women--with confusion and misery the result for both.