Ella Price's Journal

by Dorothy Bryant, Barbara Horn (Introduction)

This novel unfolds as a series of entries in the journal of a suburban housewife attending college for the first time at the age of thirty-five. Ella’s growing consciousness begins to shake the foundations of her life, and she comes to the realization that she is irrevocably changed—and that to be true to herself, she must make painful choices.

First published in 1972, Ella Price's Journal is a deeply authentic literary rendering of a woman’s struggle to give voice to what Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique called “the problem that has no name,” and a novel that affirms the possibility of growth toward a richly intense and authentic life at any age.

Genres: Fiction, Literature

256 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 1997

About the author

Dorothy Bryant was born in San Francisco in 1930, second daughter of Joe and Giuditta Calvetti, both born in Balangero, a factory town near Turin, Italy, and brought to the United States as children. Bryant became the first in her family to graduate from college, and she earned her living teaching (high school and college) until 1976. She began writing in 1960 and has since published a dozen books of fiction and non-fiction. Her plays have been performed in the Bay Area and beyond.

Bryant is known for her mystical, feminist and fantastic novels and plays that traverse the space between the real world and her character's inner psyche or soul. Her book The Kin of Ata are Waiting for You was described by Alice Walker as "One of my favorite books in all the world".

Reviews

[Mary Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic and unfortunately, it is very relevant today, even though it is set in the sixties. I fear the protagonist’s ignorant family and neighbors are on the rise right now. I have read this a few times, and each time I am impressed by the way that Bryant shows how the process of thinking begins. I was blessed to go to a very fine university and had the same kind of waking up to the difference between my view of the world and the much larger world that exists. Ironically, I believed everything my parents told me and di not realize until college that my mother told me liberal ideas, my father conservative. This book shows what happens when a closed mind is exposed to a liberal (in the original meaning of that word) education. This is why certain people are so frightened of teaching truth in schools, or letting young people go to college. I wish everyone would read it.

[Sarah Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

What compelled me as a sheltered 13-year-old to read a novel about a disgruntled housewife and her journey to discover herself? I have no idea. All I can say is that I had weird, eclectic taste, and would often pick up a book because the cover or the description on the flap appealed to me.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't recall where I came across this title but I think it was in another book called Dietland. I knew it would be some feminist themed story - and it was. It was really fascinating to read. Written in 1972 originally, Ella Price's efforts to develop herself are met with so many barriers. Most of all her conditioning to how she should act and think and spend her time. Men at every turn set her back on her heels about her interests and efforts and when they don't actually vocalize their dislike for her interests outside the home, outside her husband and being a good wife, their voices still ring in her head creating doubt. It made me sad when Ella heard the way faculty talked about the women in their 30s pursuing higher education. She was so proud of herself and it quickly deflated her - and her professor was an ass.

[Sarah Swedberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the first half of the book, as Ella Price finds her voice.

But then I got creeped out. Like the last book I read, I think it might be that this is a really good primary source, reflecting the era it was written and published.

[Anthony Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best American feminist novel since Chopin's The Awakening.

[Irma Servatius · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this in one sitting. a coming of age story for a 35 year old.
brilliant to put "the end" 75% of the way through the book.
the ending was a bit pedantic.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fictional diary is a compelling exemplar of "consciousness raising" and a time-capsule of early 1970s feminism. It is a sequel in a way to Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique, in that it follows what might become of an unfulfilled housewife who takes a community college class, and begins to seek some independence and an intellectual life. The writing style follows Ella's metamorphosis. And the heroes and villains are not quite as easily classified as it seems at first. The ending especially begs for discussion... but I won't spoil it here.

[Angela Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I put four, I think I really want it to be a 3.5. Somewhere between liked it and really liked it. I think, actually, the reason why I have to put four is because I love the way this book in particular is set as a journal. Ella is a very dynamic character, changing and growing from the get-go. I also like the references to literature and the introspection (naturally).

[Mary Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in college and loved it--a coming-of-age story about a housewife who becomes politically and socially aware through the act of keeping a journal for a class that she takes.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was different than my normal reading - it was so feminist but that context was embedded within the story itself. It was a quick read that I think a lot of women would identify with.