Customer Reviews

A Frozen Woman

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I heard Maya Angelou once say good writing makes the reader think "I could have written that" because the text so accurately depicts common feelings. Ernaux has more than accomplished that in A Frozen Woman. Her description of the journey a young woman makes from independence and freedom to a stifled married-with-children life hits almost too close to home. The text is also written in a way that the reader seems to be as surprised at how much life changes for the narrator as the character is herself. I could not help but think of Reviving Ophelia while reading this book, tracing the metamorphosis of adventurous girls into frozen women

I read this book in one sitting and found it fascinating. It was translated from French, but flows very well. I wonder what period in time this book is meant to reflect. The book seems autobiographical, and as the author was born in 1940, I assume that this is the era that character is experiencing - a time in which most women were expected to be happy to give up a career in exchange for marriage and children.

A Frozen Women is a interesting study of one woman's protest at being urged into becoming a wife and mother, a role for which she has no respect or desire. If this book had reflected the 90's or later (which I believe it does not), it would not have rung true, as today's women, for the most part, have more choices than they used to.

I really found myself feeling empathy with the main character, as even today, women are still often expected to bear the brunt of household and child rearing duties - jobs that don't seem to be highly respect or appreciated, and are often less than fulfilling. The main character's feelings of resentment and powerlessness have probably been experienced by many women, both in the past and present, especially women who desire an even partnership in marriage.

The ending left me waiting for more, however, and I wonder if Ernaux will be continuing what seems to be an autobiographical tale of a woman who dreams of liberation and equality.

I recommend this book to everyone--women who fear marriage, women who are eager to marry, happily married women, unhappily married women, men of all sorts. It provides a fascinating, convincing portrayal of a loveless marriage, of how class affects our lives in a very real way. The book is focused, terrifying, depressing, vivid, energetic--everything you want in a memoir. If you're an empathic person, you'll admire this book.

What amazing insight Ernaux displays concerning the emotional, intellectual, and professional development of women on all levels! Nothing is held back as she illustrates in tormenting detail the full story of a woman's existence. In writing about one woman, Ernaux produces a book which is a comprehensive commentary about the dreams, emotions, aspirations, and ambitions embodied in all women as they face the daily demands of life and survival. Much more should be written about this topic and in this vein which does not shun nor exploit female emotion

Annie Ernaux's Frozen Woman is the perfect type of the victim who cannot do anything but complain about her family, her social background, her husband... The writer - the book is autobiographical - hasn't got any sense of humour about herself and her writing is full of resentment and even shame. It is not litterature but testimony, like those you can read in Marie-Claire magazine.