Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen (Library of Contemporary Thought) [Paperback]

Susan Isaacs (Author)

Book Description

Series: Library of Contemporary Thought | Publication Date: January 19, 1999

Why are Jane Eyre, Marge Simpson, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer "brave dames"? What makes Ally McBeal, Madame Bovary, and the good wife Beth from Fatal Attraction "wimpettes"?

In this thoroughly witty, incisive look at the role of women on screen and page, Susan Isaacs argues that assertive, ethical women characters are losing ground to wounded, shallow sisters who are driven by what she calls the articles of wimpette philosophy. (Article Eight: A wimpette looks to a man to give her an identity.) Although female roles today include lawyers like Ally McBeal and CEOs like Ronnie of Veronica's Closet, they are wimpettes nonetheless. A brave dame, on the other hand, is a dignified, three-dimensional hero who may care about men, home, and hearth, but also cares--and acts--passionately about something in the world beyond. Brave dames' stories range from mundane (Mary Richards in The Mary Tyler Moore Show) to romantic (Francesca in The Horse Whisperer) to fantastic (Xena: Warrior Princess), but whatever they do, they care about justice and carry themselves with self-respect and decency. For a Really Brave Dame, think Frances McDormand as the tenacious, pregnant police chief in Fargo.

Isaacs's unmistakable love of fiction and film shines through even her most scathing wimpette assessments. In the end, she urges us to become "more thoughtful critics." The artist, she says, has the right to create whatever he or she pleases--and we have the right "to applaud or to yell, 'Hey, this stinks!' " If we do so, not only will fiction be improved, but so too might real life.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Susan Isaacs's witty imagination has peopled the world with brave dames in films like Compromising Positions and full-bodied novels such as 1998's Red, White, and Blue. The slender and interestingly ornery essay Brave Dames and Wimpettes is part of the monthly Library of Contemporary Thought series, whose most fun title so far is Carl Hiaasen's Disney-bashing diatribe Team Rodent (now available on audiocassette).

So, what's a "brave dame"? "They're passionate about something besides passion," Isaacs writes. Take Jo March, Elizabeth Bennet, Katharine Hepburn, and Roz Russell, who prove "women are as competent and brave as the next guy." Her fave dame, Jane Eyre, "had high moral standards, stood up to injustice, and was willing to leave civilization and face the wild, even death, rather than do wrong."

Wimpettes, who outnumber dames in pop culture, believe in masochism, subterfuge, betrayal of women, and deriving identity from their man. "The world stops at the white picket of their fences.... larger causes--racial equality, justice--are left to the guys."

The book is a romp through books, movies, and TV, as Isaacs puts dozens of women in their place on the dame/wimpette spectrum. Anita Hill? Feh! "This über-wimpette testified before Congress how she endured vile sex talk from a superior rather than (1) report him for harassment ... or (2) tell him to shut the hell up." Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Frances McDormand in Fargo are dames; Ally McBeal and Anne Archer in Fatal Attraction are wimpettes. (Note, however, that Ethan Coen told Amazon.com McDormand is the bad guy in Fargo and Steve Buscemi the good guy.) Julia Roberts is a wimpette in My Best Friend's Wedding but a dame in Mystic Pizza and The Pelican Brief.

Ideally, Isaacs's book should start a lot of excellent arguments. Don't wimp out! --Tim Appelo

From Publishers Weekly

After beginning with the reasonable claim that the media too often present women as one-dimensional victims, Isaacs's foray into cultural criticism quickly turns into an object lesson on oversimplification. Novelist Isaacs (Red, White and Blue, etc.) gives her analysis of female characters in books, movies and TV a facile framework by lumping all women characters into two categories. A wimpette (Madame Bovary is the archetype) is a passive-aggressive masochist whose identity depends on a man. Her opposite, the brave dame, is common in real life but elusive in pop culture. She is "passionate about something besides passion," resilient, competent, moral, a true friend (think Jane Eyre). The book is a series of litmus tests. Kathleen Turner's cheerful soccer mom/psychopath in Serial Mom comes out well (after all, she's a multidimensional character), while the wife played by Anne Archer in Fatal Attraction, who kills Glenn Close for sleeping with her husband and boiling the pet rabbit, is a mere wimpette, because she acts only to protect her home (the basis of her weak identity). Although Isaacs repeatedly describes herself as a feminist, her particular brand of feminism asks women to handle every aspect of their lives?relationships, motherhood, career?without any complaint or sign of weakness. Unsurprisingly, few brave dames are found, and many of them belong to the realm of fantasy (Xena: Warrior Princess and Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Occasionally thought-provoking, the many character studies here are fatally weakened by the absolute judgment at the end of each one, and, as every analysis can have only one of two endings, the book quickly becomes repetitive. (Jan.) FYI: Brave Dames and Wimpettes is part of Ballantine's Library of Contemporary Thought series.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1 edition (January 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345422813
• ISBN-13: 978-0345422811
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 4.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,805,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #28 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Gender Studies > General
  • #87 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Movies > History & Criticism

More About the Author

First, here's what the critics say::

AFiction done well and done with a difference...A sophisticated storyteller, with a wry view of the world.@ - Washington Post


AJane Austen brought up to date...Highly amusing.@ - Atlantic Monthly


ASusan Isaacs is a witty, wry observer of the contemporary scene.@ - New York Times Book Review

ASardonic humor and dead-on commentary.@ - Houston Chronicle


ASusan Isaacs knows the art of dialogue the way J.S. Bach knew the art of the fugue.@ - Seattle Times


Blockbuster writers tend to be no more than terrific storytellers. Susan Isaacs=s talents go far beyond that. She is a witty, insightful, and elegant writer.@ - Mademoiselle

AI can think of no other novelist--popular or highbrow--who consistently celebrates female gutsiness, brains and sexuality. She=s Jane Austen with a schmear.@ Maureen Corrigan- National Public Radio Fresh Air


AWho....., is our best popular novelist? The nominee for this quarter is Susan Isaacs....[She] is a comic realist, an astute chronicler of contemporary life in the tradition of....Anthony Trollope.@ - Sun Sentinel



Susan's biography

Susan Isaacs, novelist, essayist and screenwriter, was born in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College. She worked as an editorial assistant at Seventeen magazine writing everything from book reviews to advice to the lovelorn. In 1968, Susan married Elkan Abramowitz, then a federal prosecutor. She became a senior editor but left Seventeen in 1970 to stay home with her newborn son, Andrew. Three years later, she gave birth to Elizabeth. During this time she freelanced, writing political speeches as well as magazine articles.

In the mid-seventies, Susan got the urge to write a novel. A year later she began Compromising Positions, a whodunit set on suburban Long Island. It was published in. Her second novel, Close Relations, a love story set against a background of ethnic, sexual and New York Democratic politics (thus a comedy), was published in. Her third, Almost Paradise, was published in 1984. All of Susan's novels have been New York Times bestsellers. Her fiction has been translated into thirty languages.

In 1985, she wrote the screenplay for Paramount's Compromising Positions, which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. She also wrote and co-produced Disney's Hello Again. The 1987 comedy starred Shelley Long and Gabriel Byrne.

Her fourth novel, Shining Through, set during World War II, was published in 1988. The film adaptation starred Michael Douglas and Melanie Griffith. Then came Magic Hour January 1991, After All These Years in 1993. Lily White in 1996 and Red, White and Blue in 1998. In 1999, Susan came out with her first work of nonfiction, Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen. During 2000, she wrote a series of columns on the presidential campaign for Newsday. Long Time No See, a sequel to Compromising Positions, came out in September 2001. Anyplace I Hang My Hat, was published in 2004. Past Perfect is her eleventh novel.

Susan Isaacs is a recipient of the Writers for Writers Award and the John Steinbeck Award. She serves as chairman of the board of Poets & Writers and is a past president of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle, The Creative Coalition, PEN, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the International Association of Crime Writers, and the Adams Round Table. Besides writing innumerable book reviews, Susan has also written about politics, film and First Amendment issues. She lives on Long Island with her husband.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Topic - Repetitive Thesis, February 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

After hearing the author talk on public radio, I was looking forward to new information and insights on how women are portrayed in tv, motion pictures, and literature. What Issacs states would be hard to argue, women ARE put into categories - strong vs. weak - or as she puts it, strong dames or wimpettes. However, I would argue that men are put in these categories, as well. It is a very quick read & does provide recommendations at the end concerning books, movies, and television programs that show strong women, not 'wimpettes'. I would suggest any parent or concerned other who feels women and girls are portrayed offensively read Issacs essay for a primer but actually write to the 'powers that be' that are in charge of network decisions,the movie makers, and, finally, the writers that put the 'pictures' in our minds of what a strong women really means.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Instead of reading this book, read Molly Haskells, February 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

I work in publishing and so have the nasty habit of reading the acknowledgement section first. I was initially put off by the fact that Ms. Isaacs thanks another person for doing the research. Then I read that this book came out of an article that was written in 1990. That it does, shows. While there are some references to current shows like lamo Ally McBeel, there are also a lot of tired references to shows like Hope & Gloria (anyone remember that one or it's impact?)And please, aren't we all a little tired of Thelma & Louise references?

Anyway, being a woman, and a woman who loves film, any kind of film and literature, I was very disappointed with this book. I thought it was on about the same level as a college essay, not something that belongs in the Library of Contemporary Thought. It's too "listy" and doesn't give enough arguement or meat--breaking everyone down into wimpettes and near wimpettes or whatever. While I do agree that there aren't many good roles for women these days, I also disagree with many of Isaacs assertions and feel that she missed a lot of good movies. For instance, Joy Luck Club, a facinating movie about women, mothers and daughters, overcoming societies rules and roles, and self-worth is dismissed in one sentence because showing women cooking is supposed to be bad in movies beause it shows us in traditional roles. Huh?

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting subject, but a disappointing read., May 18, 1999

By 

Sherry Kumar Simon ([e-mail]) (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brave Dames and Wimpettes: What Women Are Really Doing on Page and Screen (Library of Contemporary Thought) (Paperback)

I have to admitt that it was the title of the book that caught my attention. I was excited to finally find a critique of modern women and the wimpy, unaccountable, excuse-making attitudes many television personalities inflict upon the viewers. My first disappointment was that the book focuses mainly on fictional TV characters, not real people. What is the point of criticising a fictional personality if it is the actress' job to portray her that way? The author missed out on the major wimpette of our time - Oprah Winfrey. While I don't mean to pick on Oprah, I want to point out that there are plently of true cases the author could have used in her book.