Ira Levin's novel The Stepford Wives is a satirical thriller that touches on major literary themes including gender roles, feminism, beauty and aesthetics, agency, technology, and conformity. Interestingly, one major theme prevalent in the novel is that of "Disneyfication", a more modern and seemingly less explored concept in literature. The "Disneyfication" of the town of Stepford is essential to the overall messages portrayed in the novel and ties together many of the other key themes. c. THESIS???
Disneyfication is defined as: "The transformation (as of something real or unsettling) into carefully controlled and safe entertainment or an environment with similar qualities.” Disneyfication occurs when societies attempt to turn …show more content…
The novel twice mentions this: once early on, when the narrator Joanna Eberhart seems skeptical about the reason for his nickname “Diz” being because he once worked at Disney (31); and once at the end of the novel in the climactic scene where Joanna finds out that Coba worked in “audioanimatronics” - the proof she needed to prove her theory of the women being turned into robots (99). Coba is the most essential character in the development of the theme of “Disneyfication”, as he was most likely the one who brought the idea of turning the women into robots to Stepford, and he presides over the Men’s Association – which is where the men of the town are convinced to kill their wives and replace them with robots. Metaphorically speaking, the town of Stepford reflects a model “Disney” type world in that the Men’s Association (and the many factories in town) are the behind the scenes - the “tool shed” and “repair shop” portion - where normal visitors (the women and children) are not allowed, but all the workers convene and run their secret operation. This would explain the abundance of buildings devoted to technology and electronics where many of the men …show more content…
The stripping of personality, as well as the bodily changes that occur to the women of Stepford fit this idea that any "negative" (according to the husbands, that is) qualities of the women are stripped away, and their replacements fit the idealized image that their husbands preferred. Joanna sees this first hand when her two friends, Charmaine and Bobbie, go through extreme personality changes and have alterations to their appearance. This first happens to Charmaine, who forgets plans she made with Joanna due to the fact that she has “too much [house]work to do” (52) – something that did not concern her much before. The biggest change in Charmaine is the loss of her love for playing tennis and reading about astrology, which is replaced by a desire to do housework and please her husband. When Joanna questions her, Charmaine says this to defend herself: “Ed's a pretty wonderful guy, and I've been lazy and selfish. I'm through playing tennis, and I'm through reading those astrology books. From now on I'm going to do right by Ed, and by Merrill too. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful husband and son” (53). Clearly, Charmaine’s husband did not want his wife to continue pursuing two things she was passionate about instead of spending her time doing housework and caring for her
Disneyfication is defined as: "The transformation (as of something real or unsettling) into carefully controlled and safe entertainment or an environment with similar qualities.” Disneyfication occurs when societies attempt to turn …show more content…
The novel twice mentions this: once early on, when the narrator Joanna Eberhart seems skeptical about the reason for his nickname “Diz” being because he once worked at Disney (31); and once at the end of the novel in the climactic scene where Joanna finds out that Coba worked in “audioanimatronics” - the proof she needed to prove her theory of the women being turned into robots (99). Coba is the most essential character in the development of the theme of “Disneyfication”, as he was most likely the one who brought the idea of turning the women into robots to Stepford, and he presides over the Men’s Association – which is where the men of the town are convinced to kill their wives and replace them with robots. Metaphorically speaking, the town of Stepford reflects a model “Disney” type world in that the Men’s Association (and the many factories in town) are the behind the scenes - the “tool shed” and “repair shop” portion - where normal visitors (the women and children) are not allowed, but all the workers convene and run their secret operation. This would explain the abundance of buildings devoted to technology and electronics where many of the men …show more content…
The stripping of personality, as well as the bodily changes that occur to the women of Stepford fit this idea that any "negative" (according to the husbands, that is) qualities of the women are stripped away, and their replacements fit the idealized image that their husbands preferred. Joanna sees this first hand when her two friends, Charmaine and Bobbie, go through extreme personality changes and have alterations to their appearance. This first happens to Charmaine, who forgets plans she made with Joanna due to the fact that she has “too much [house]work to do” (52) – something that did not concern her much before. The biggest change in Charmaine is the loss of her love for playing tennis and reading about astrology, which is replaced by a desire to do housework and please her husband. When Joanna questions her, Charmaine says this to defend herself: “Ed's a pretty wonderful guy, and I've been lazy and selfish. I'm through playing tennis, and I'm through reading those astrology books. From now on I'm going to do right by Ed, and by Merrill too. I'm lucky to have such a wonderful husband and son” (53). Clearly, Charmaine’s husband did not want his wife to continue pursuing two things she was passionate about instead of spending her time doing housework and caring for her