“When a man was cross, said Andelin, whose own husband was often cross with her, he was usually justified.” (36) “ makes it all too easy for a mother to leave her baby for long periods of time to pursue her own self-interests.” (64) “God, believed Andelin, measured a woman’s worth not by her relationship with him but by her relationship with her husband.” (54 – I assume this is a conclusion she drew from the temple experience) “A husband didn’t want to see a depressed wife, taught Andelin, so a wife who was depressed should not be surprised if her husband left her.” (35) “Love, she said, ‘will never blossom forth until we surrender to a man.’” (33) “Women’s needs are the same the whole world over – to make men happy, to understand the masculine nature, and to be loved.” (31)
To name just a few of the quotes that made my eyeballs bug out of my head*: Julie’s description of Andelin’s intense, physical anguish as a result of these failed opportunities – feeling that leadership was uninspired, lamenting the red tape that separated her from her spiritual leaders, struggling to remain in the church – was one of the few moments where I ached for her.īut then I reminded myself of the downright harmful ideas she promoted to millions of women all across the globe (3 million copies sold to date, people) and my sympathy waned. The church, though embroiled in ERA opposition, distanced itself from her particular philosophy. Despite obtaining audience with several apostles and appealing to at least 4 different prophets by mail (and one – Joseph Fielding Smith – in person!), she never succeeded. Throughout her life, she explained away accusations of plagiarism by repeating her belief that God had put the pamphlets into her hands for the benefit of the world.Ī devout Mormon, Andelin spent years trying to secure the endorsement of the church. Much of Fascinating Womanhood, including Angela Human, was lifted word-for-word from pamphlets produced in the 1920s. I’d accuse Andelin of being a bit heavy handed and unoriginal in the name, except that she didn’t invent it. She even took it a step further – if you fail to take these measures, not only will your marriage fail, but your children will become delinquents, too!įascinating Womanhood explains that all women should strive to become the Ideal Woman, who possesses both angelic attributes (a “domestic goddess” with an “unblemished character,” among other things) and human qualities (“radiant health” and “childlikeness.”) This Ideal Woman is named Angela Human. This, according to Andelin, was the only way to a happy, adultery-proof marriage. After years of obsessing over the issue, Andelin, however, had come to a much different conclusion than Friedan: To experience happiness in marriage, women should be utterly submissive, defer to their husbands in all things, change their personalities, maintain trim figures, deny themselves of all optional activities, ball their fists and stomp their feet like petulant children when angry, wear ribbons in their hair, and act helpless and dumb. Concurrently, Betty Friedan made the same observation and famously published her perceived solution in The Feminine Mystique, the book widely credited as the catalyst for second-wave feminism in America.
Neuffer’s new book, Helen Andelin and the Fascinating Womanhood Movement, gives an unprecedented look into the personal experiences and social/political climate that spurred Andelin’s pursuit of an antidote for divorce, the growth of her idea into an international enterprise, and the supposed enemies she made along the way (“…the feminists, the abortionists, the liberals, the BYU Family Relations Department, and the General Presidency of the Relief Society.”)Ĭoncerned by rising malaise among housewives, Andelin considered it a calling from God to find the cure. Thanks to historian and author Julie Debra Neuffer, that situation has now been rectified. Up until ten days ago, I’d never even heard of Fascinating Womanhood, a how-to-save-your-marriage manual- cum-lifestyle popularized by a Mormon housewife in the early 60s.
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