Stepford Wives Discussion Questions

The book is titled The Stepford Wives, but it could also be titled The Stepford Husbands. What do you make of the husbands in the novel, and what are their goals?   

How is this a book about domestic labor and the invisible work that housewives and mothers do? What are the forms of labor that they do that are uncompensated and often not seen or appreciated?  

How do media and pornographic representations of women inform the men’s vision of the “perfect” Stepford Wives?

The Disney animatronics play a role in the narrative, as the creator of the women robots is a Disney animatronics engineer. In addition to being known for their cutting-edge innovations, Disney has also long been a huge influencer in terms of the American imagination. How might Disney’s “worldview” have also influenced the men in the novel? Do you see any parallels between The Stepford Wives robots and early Disney princesses such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty? 

Just as the environment and systemic (institutional) structure of slavery influenced Rufus in Kindred, how does the environment and ideals of Stepford influence Walter? What does this tell us about how susceptible humans are to their environments? 

Why don’t the men simply create robots to help their wives do work?  

Today in America, statistics show that women do more housework in heterosexual marriages, as well as more child care, even though in most heterosexual couples both parents work outside the home. In the workplace, women still make less on average than men in many fields. What does the novel suggest is the root of this lingering inequality? Why does it persist in the American imagination, even as our laws have become more equal?