Women Who Could...And Did
Karma Kitaj, Ph.D.
(Sr. Associate Reviewer - Dr. Alma Bond)
2002 Huckle Hill Press
ISBN: 0971595720 Amazon's price is: $16.95
The Lives of 26 Exemplary Women Artists and Scientists.
Sr. Associate Reviewer Dr. Alma H. Bond writes:
Women Who Could...And Did, by psychotherapist Karma Kitaj, is the story of highly accomplished women artists & scientists born in the first third of the last century, & the historical & psychological factors that helped or hindered them in their careers.
Searching for a mentor herself, this 50-year old author looked for women in their late sixties to mid-nineties who were self-confident enough that they had no need to compete, practice one-upmanship, or withhold warmth & encouragement. Women Who Could...And Did evolved out of a seven-year process of listening to these 26 women, delving into their psyches, & interpreting their interviews.
Women Who Could...And Did begins by describing the historical conditions affecting women's access to work during the 20th century. The first section focuses on practices that discriminated against women, as well as opportunities made possible by changing historical conditions. “Good” women were supposed to stay home & take care of their husbands & children, so that their female identities merged into that of their loved ones. The World Wars temporarily alleviated the situation, as women were needed to replace men away at war. But when the veterans came home, they returned to their former jobs, & the rights of women seeking careers slid all the way back to where they had been before the wars.
This reviewer, when applying in 1948 for the program at N.Y.U. for a Master's degree in Psychology, was told that there was no room for her, that it was a “buyers” market, with an abundance of returning soldiers to choose from. Interestingly enough, I had graduated from college with honors in Psychology, & it was a woman faculty member who gave me the bad news. During the Depression, when as many as 25% of employable Americans were unemployed, women's career aspirations were even more drastically curtailed.
By the first third of the 20th century, gender values began to change. More women were educated, & growing less dependent on men. A setback for women's right occurred in the fifties, when Senator Joseph McCarthy promoted a climate that encouraged passivity & silence. The evil spawned by McCarthy lasted until the Civil Rights Movement of the sixties & the second wave Feminist Movement of the seventies. Women's consciousness-raising followed, assisted by President Lyndon Johnson, who sought to make the federal government a showcase for women-friendly employment practices.
The second section of Women Who Could...And Did highlights the childhood & adolescence of the interviewees, & their education for various careers. The diverse background of these high achievers ranged from affluent high society to first generation children of poor immigrants. Four out of five were the first child, first or only daughter, or only child. Although few of the fathers guided their daughters into developing careers, many lavished positive attention on them. Perhaps the benign attitudes of their fathers were instrumental in helping these women avoid the sexist attitudes of their culture. More than half reported positive experiences with their mothers, who went out of their way to provide opportunities for their offspring to develop their talents.
Very few of the mothers worked, however, causing many of the subjects to reject their mothers' limited lives. The majority of these gifted women reported that they felt different from their peers as children, yet few believed that the resulting angst contributed to their creativity. They felt, rather, that their success was achieved despite their pain. One third of the women were children of immigrants or first generation immigrant families.
Almost half of the subjects reported in Women Who Could...And Did that they never had a mentor, & had to rely on their inner resources to get ahead. Those without role models or mentors frequently spoke of finding real people, fictional characters, or famous individuals they read about, to model themselves upon. This reviewer understands very well the hunger for a role model. Looking for accomplished women to emulate as a child & adolescent, I tried to pattern myself after fictional heroines & movie stars. Among my favorites were the self-reliant Dominique of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, & the actress Barbara Stanwyck, who seemed warm, direct, & humorous.
The subjects of Women Who Could...And Did spoke very humbly about their success, attributing it to being at the right place at the right time. They spoke with awe of their achievements, & felt blessed that their gifts accompanied them into a rich & meaningful old age.
The third section of Women Who Could...And Did introduces the concept of “passion” in the work of the women, perseverence against odds, & the interplay between assertiveness & their desires to be connected with husband & children. By their middle years, all of the women had found their metier. Their life histories suggest that high energy, determination, obstinacy to get the work done right, but with the ability to let go & start over if necessary, trust of their own perceptions, hard work, enjoyment of feeling confident & independent, continually challenging themselves, taking risks, with a sense of adventure, are all qualities that contributed to the success of their careers.
Although half were divorced & a number remained single, the women in general did not build their lives around what the author calls the “Romance Plot,” & those who are still alive lead very full existences to the present day. Contrary to most other aging people, the passion for their work &/or intellectual & creative abilities continues to provide pleasure, excitement, & challenge.
The fourth section emphasizes the stories of two artists, the painter Maud Morgan & the filmmaker, Elda Harltey, & two scientists, Helen Davies, a biologist, & the medical researcher, Nancy Bucher. The lives of these women remained filled with energy into their seventies, eighties, & nineties, & are representative of the population covered in this book. All persevered in following their own star.
The last section of Women Who Could...And Did is called “Mentoring From Afar,” & suggests that women today follow the legacy of hope, courage, & conviction left us by the 26 women in the book. In a moving ending, Dr. Kitaj discusses how writing this book has changed her. Her work as a psychotherapist & writer-researcher now engage her more fully. She loses track of time while working, & finds it hard to tear herself away from therapy & writing. She became further convinced that these stories needed to be told, & that this book was the vehicle to express them. She became more assertive, developed into her own advocate, & felt ever more passionate about her work. The process became an alternate mentoring experience for her. She hopes that Women Who Could...and Did will have a similar impact on the next generation of powerful women.
In the final chapter, the author suggests that women today use the wise women in this book as she herself has done, as “paper mentors” to open up, encourage, & model new avenues for career & life satisfaction.
Women Who Could...And Did is an interesting book. It gives an excellent historical background of women's fight for equal rights in the twentieth century, describing factors that advanced the struggle, & those which held it back. The stories of the women are engaging in their own right, particularly to people like this reviewer who is of the same generation as the subjects, & who found many similarities between their lives & her own.
The interviewees are wonderful role models for women who have the need for them, & are proof that women today can go as far as their ambitions, will, persistence, & talents can take them. The writing of the book is, unfortunately, only mediocre. While the author is obviously a sincere, dedicated, & feeling human being, she could have done better at bringing her subjects to life. Nevertheless, Women Who Could...And Did is recommended for those interested in the change in women's status during the 20th century, for women looking for role models, & in need of confirmation that they can achieve their own career goals.
(12/29/02)
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