Name: Kabita Paudel
Analytical book review: The secret history of wonder women
Book author: Jill Lepore
In this female comic book “The secret history of wonder women” Jill Lepore offers new insights on the Wonder woman character and her creator. The Harvard professor of American history, Jill Lepore has saved Wonder Woman from being just a beautiful character of a comic-strip written by William Moulton Marston. Lepore has depicted her as an example of first-wave feminism and also introduced William Marston, a psychologist, best known for creating an early lie-detecting machine. Lepore explains how Marston put his character together based on the previous literature.
"The Secret History of Wonder Woman" has the introductory "The Splash Page," …show more content…
The second part also shows the connection between Marston's personal life and his character. When Byrne started to live with Marston, he did not buy her a wedding ring. Instead, he bought her a set of gold bracelets which Olive wore all of her life. Wonder Woman also wears gold bracelets as a symbol of her power. However, these bracelets also have attached rings, which are recognized as bdsm devices. After Byrne had children with Marston, she was described to the outsiders as "the housekeeper," and her children were told that their real father died. She raised her and Holloway's children so his wife could continue to work. It was a nice deal for Marston, to have one woman to look after his kids and another to support him financially since he never earned much during his life. At the press conference in 1937, Marston talked about his support for a matriarchy. Having analyzed Marston's connection to Sanger, women's liberation movement, and the lie detector, Lepore states that Wonder Woman is the product of her creator's cultural, political and secret family life. In the third part "Paradise Island," Lepore tells more about Wonder Woman herself. Marston wrote the first part of Wonder Woman in 1941. Lepore uses the illustration to show that connections …show more content…
Lepore’s research reveals the pivotal role of feminism in the creation of the character. She also examines the life of Marston and his relationship with his wife and mistress, both of whom influenced the comic book character's development. The book gives a lot of things to discuss. It has two interesting perspectives to look at. One is historical understanding what is happening to Wonder Woman at that time and the second is Jill’s own perspective on those characters. Ms. Lepore is not just interested in comics. She is interested in Wonder Woman's "origins" and her place in the history of feminist movement starting from the suffragette, through early birth control period, the sixties Women's Liberation movement and till today. Jill Lepore shows how the comics reflect women's cultural values. Lepore is really good at excavating old flashpoints, forgotten collisions between politics and cultural aspects of America’s past. She explains how some historical events or social problems were fought over by interest groups and reformers of that period. The result can be both familiar and surprisingly new. For her research, Lepore uses archives and comics, letters, and memoirs of the participants, as well as interviews with children, surviving colleagues, and extended family. She gives us an opportunity to know more about early feminists whose goals Wonder Woman carried forward. Lepore is skillful at showing a unique process by
Analytical book review: The secret history of wonder women
Book author: Jill Lepore
In this female comic book “The secret history of wonder women” Jill Lepore offers new insights on the Wonder woman character and her creator. The Harvard professor of American history, Jill Lepore has saved Wonder Woman from being just a beautiful character of a comic-strip written by William Moulton Marston. Lepore has depicted her as an example of first-wave feminism and also introduced William Marston, a psychologist, best known for creating an early lie-detecting machine. Lepore explains how Marston put his character together based on the previous literature.
"The Secret History of Wonder Woman" has the introductory "The Splash Page," …show more content…
The second part also shows the connection between Marston's personal life and his character. When Byrne started to live with Marston, he did not buy her a wedding ring. Instead, he bought her a set of gold bracelets which Olive wore all of her life. Wonder Woman also wears gold bracelets as a symbol of her power. However, these bracelets also have attached rings, which are recognized as bdsm devices. After Byrne had children with Marston, she was described to the outsiders as "the housekeeper," and her children were told that their real father died. She raised her and Holloway's children so his wife could continue to work. It was a nice deal for Marston, to have one woman to look after his kids and another to support him financially since he never earned much during his life. At the press conference in 1937, Marston talked about his support for a matriarchy. Having analyzed Marston's connection to Sanger, women's liberation movement, and the lie detector, Lepore states that Wonder Woman is the product of her creator's cultural, political and secret family life. In the third part "Paradise Island," Lepore tells more about Wonder Woman herself. Marston wrote the first part of Wonder Woman in 1941. Lepore uses the illustration to show that connections …show more content…
Lepore’s research reveals the pivotal role of feminism in the creation of the character. She also examines the life of Marston and his relationship with his wife and mistress, both of whom influenced the comic book character's development. The book gives a lot of things to discuss. It has two interesting perspectives to look at. One is historical understanding what is happening to Wonder Woman at that time and the second is Jill’s own perspective on those characters. Ms. Lepore is not just interested in comics. She is interested in Wonder Woman's "origins" and her place in the history of feminist movement starting from the suffragette, through early birth control period, the sixties Women's Liberation movement and till today. Jill Lepore shows how the comics reflect women's cultural values. Lepore is really good at excavating old flashpoints, forgotten collisions between politics and cultural aspects of America’s past. She explains how some historical events or social problems were fought over by interest groups and reformers of that period. The result can be both familiar and surprisingly new. For her research, Lepore uses archives and comics, letters, and memoirs of the participants, as well as interviews with children, surviving colleagues, and extended family. She gives us an opportunity to know more about early feminists whose goals Wonder Woman carried forward. Lepore is skillful at showing a unique process by