The Crux

By Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Book Overview

When a group of New England women move to the western frontier, they encounter a new set of problems testing their love, friendship and spirits. In The Crux, Gilman highlights women's need for economic independence and sexual autonomy. The strain of New England life pushes a group of progressive women to move to Colorado. Together, they open a boarding house and create a bustling business that supports both men and women. When one of the ladies fall in love with a male resident, it dramatically changes the group's dynamic. His poor health and questionable standing make their relationship a point of contention. The author uses their scenario to examine self-determination theory, and its connection to other ideologies that may influence a woman's choice. The Crux is a powerful exploration of contemporary feminist ideals. It focuses on the many disparities between genders both personally and professionally. This is an intriguing look at the long-term effects of different social conventions.

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• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1513271016
• ISBN13: 9781513271019
• Release Date: May 2021
• Publisher: Mint Editions
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Essential, entertaining reading for Gilman fans

The Crux is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the writings of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Jennifer S. Tuttle's is to be commended for bringing it to readers in this excellent edition. After having read most of Gilman's other fiction, I will admit that I put off reading this one because of its reputation as "the book about venereal disease" (sexually transmitted diseases). I feared it would be didactic, heavy handed, and depressing. Instead, it's like the best of Gilman's "optimistic reform" books: it treats its serious subject with a light touch, conveying its important ideas through appealing characters and a strong plot with Gilman's typical "happy ending." (Some readers might argue that the ending is a bit implausible, but that's part of the interest of this set of Gilman's writings.) At times, it is laugh-out-loud funny. Also, it's not entirely accurate to say that the book is "about" venereal disease, for although the last third of the book discusses the dangers women faced from sexually transmitted diseases in the years before adequate cures had been discovered, there is much more to the story. It portrays the opportunities for self discovery open to women who move from the stultifying conditions of New England villages to the open life in a new city in the Colorado mountains. The women characters (on whom the story focuses) range from young unmarried women to a seemingly dried-up old maid, a woman doctor, and one of literature's most delightful grandmothers. My only serious objection to this edition is that University of Delaware Press, for some unaccountable reason, has elected to publish this book only in an expensive hardback edition. The story, along with Tuttle's illuminating introduction and clear explanatory notes, would be highly suitable as a teaching text if the book were available in a reasonably-priced paper edition.