Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist

by Jill Tweedie, Merrily Harpur (Illustrator)

The letters from Martha to her younger, more liberated sister, Mary have entertained (and, at times, enraged) readers of The Guardian's women's page for some time now. These letters reflect the gap in many enlightened women's lives between their theories and their day-to-day practice. Martha writes despairingly that, for her, 'The microscopic happenings in Home Sweet Home so distort all perspective that I frequently feel I'd drop the Sex Discrimination Act for any suggestion of what to cook for dinner that doesn't include spaghetti and meatballs.'

From the Letters a rounded portrait of Martha emerges: a 38-year-old Londoner, a full-time wife and mother, yearning to put into practice the precepts of the women's movement- but thwarted at every turn. Those not helping her include her fiftyish Civil Servant husband, Josh, and his high-flying lady boss, Irene; the two children from her first marriage, and their father, Tom (who wants Josh to finance his Flasher's Guide to Feminism); and always there is the baby, who
seems fonder of Whiskas than the cat is.

Illustrated by Merrily Harpur, and introduced by Jill Tweedie (who also writes regularly for the Guardian ), the Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist offer the uncomprehending an insight into those issues which trouble so many women - and the Sisterhood the reminder that, for many, the spirit may be willing but the flesh is weak.

141 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Jill Tweedie was born in Egypt in 1936. One of the foremost women involved in the British feminist movement, she worked for many years as a columnist on The Guardian where her writing with its warmth, wit and emotional honesty spoke to thousands of women. She wrote regularly for newspapers and magazines and was twice made Woman Journalist of the Year.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Letters from a Fainthearted Feminist is an interesting book. Originally it started out as a series of humorous letters which appeared in a newspaper. Each letter follows a formula of sorts, a repressed woman writes to her more liberal sister. Obviously the content is where the power of these pieces lie. Despite the funny dressing the topics discussed in these letters delve into serious issues from Thatcher’s government to women’s liberation.

However, it didn’t quite work for me. I felt it somewhat outdated and the humour just felt a bit quaint but maybe I’m the wrong audience.

[Lesley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of letters from Martha, a stay-at-home housewife & the eponymous faint-hearted feminist, to her more militant sister-in-the-cause, Mary.
I don’t think I would have really liked this book whenever I read it. I can probably tolerate it more now than I could have done at the time it was first published. I dislike the term feminist, I find it patronising. It makes me feel I have been summed up, put in the correct box & can now be dismissed. I have been called feminist many times but, to the best of my recollection, it isn’t something I’ve called myself or ever would.
I dislike labels in general, I have been told by some female friends, in a way that has felt like criticism, that I am not a ‘girly girl’. I don’t know what that means or who decides the rules on what a ‘girly girl’ is. I have had male friends remark that they forget I’m female - usually in a surprised tone when I’ve said I like flowers, or something of that ilk. It makes me wonder if people always have gender in mind when they speak to someone.
Until I started university, I wasn’t aware of being constrained by being female. You weren’t steered along different paths at school. There were plenty of girls taking science subjects, my female chemistry partner was openly acknowledged as the smartest person in our year. There were female senior maths & science teachers.
Totally subjectively, my experience of the Women’s Movement at university was that they too had an idea of how women should behave & present themselves - & woe betide you if you broke those rules.
In short, I can’t relate to either Martha or Mary. I understand the social & economic factors at work, but, on an individual level I can’t imagine ending up in Martha’s position. Her husband & I would be so far apart ideologically, I can’t see how either of us would be in a relationship together. Mary is just a caricature to laugh at.
I did warm to some of the general humour towards the end.
Biggest surprise for me was how shockingly outdated some (non-feminist) references were. I can’t imagine saying that someone has been ‘in & out of a bin more times than a plastic liner’, in reference to mental health issues, going down very well today.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally got around to reading this book, which, oddly, I bought second-hand in Israel in the early 1990s....I expected it to feel much more dated than it does, but in fact the humor is still funny and pretty relevant even to our progressive times. It did seem to end very abruptly--apparently it is a collection of "letters" that originally appeared as a newspaper column.

[Nia Nymue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly funny. Quite easy to read even though there's a lot of ideas at play. Leaves one thinking during and afterwards.