Wendy Wasserstein’s play, An American Daughter, premiered in 1996. The play discusses many social and political topics that are still relevant to today’s society. Unfortunately, the play’s discussion of political and social topics demonstrate that not much has changed in the world despite the passing of 22 years.
Since An American Daughter covers so many political and social topics, I have decided to narrow it down and break up this particular post into three categories – “Feminism,” “Intersectional Feminism,” and “Sexism.” [A list of additional social and political topics discussed in the play is included at the end].
An American Daughter focuses on the character of Dr. Lyssa Hughes, who has been recently nominated by the president (never mentioned by name but is presumably Bill Clinton) to be the United States’ Surgeon General. She is the daughter of a Republican senator and the great, great-granddaughter of Ulysses S. Grant. She is referred to as “…an American daughter of the highest caliber” (64). Lyssa’s nomination takes an unexpected turn when it is revealed that she avoided jury duty two times. The first time she was able to postpone it and the second time she misplaced the letter but never called to receive another one. Due to these new findings, Lyssa is faced with backlash and her future takes a different path.
Feminism
An American Daughter cannot be analyzed without talking about feminism. The lead women in the play – Lyssa, Judith, and Quincy – are all feminists. Lyssa and Judith, both women of 42, were born during the first wave of feminism but grew up during the second wave of feminism. Quincy, a woman of 27, is supposed to represent the current and future generation of feminists.
Lyssa and Judith grew up being told they could do anything and that they could have it all – a career, a husband, and a family. As Quincy says: “…the Lyssa Dent Hughes problem is really the problem with her generation. This first generation of feminists had an overwhelming need to demonstrate their competency in every arena” (45). (Quincy is actually incorrect, as the generation she discusses is the second wave of feminism, while the first wave of feminism was about women’s suffrage). However, as women of Lyssa and Judith’s generation learned, being able to “have it all” was not so easy to juggle. A woman was expected to have a career and be an equally devoted mother and wife all at the same time. As Quincy says:
“Dr. Hughes is a prisoner of her gender. She took on so many obligations that the basic necessities of life, like responding to a simple jury form, became overwhelming. The best intentions in females often become the seeds of their own destruction” (39).
Quincy’s quote demonstrates that Lyssa was expected to achieve so much and to do it perfectly that it did not allow for any mistakes. If the woman did make a mistake, like forgetting to respond to a jury form, her life would be in ruin, as we see in Lyssa’s life (discussed in the third section).
The second wave of feminism was about gender equality. Betty Friedan’s 1963 book, The Feminine Mystique, caused a lot of controversy when it was published. The Feminine Mystique discussed the myth of the “happy homemaker.” It was to shed light on the fact that women did not want to be housewives and wanted a career. Though there were many women who related to this, the book excluded women who were happy to be housewives, and these women rightfully felt like Friedan was insulting and critiquing their lives.
The notion of the “happy homemaker” is demonstrated in An American Daughter. When asked about her mother, Lyssa says: “She was the kind of ordinary Indiana housewife who took pride in her icebox cakes and cheese pimento canapes” (37). Though Lyssa did not necessarily mean any harm by this comment, her comment sparked outrage amongst housewives, as they felt like Lyssa was “minimizing their lives” (46). As demonstrated by the reaction to The Feminine Mystique, this sentiment was felt by women in real life.
Before moving on to the next two sections, I want to discuss the “feminist man.” In the play, Lyssa’s husband, Walter, is an esteemed academic. Quincy, who is also a past student of his, says: “Walter is brilliant! He’s the only academic who can reshape liberalism into an active stance instead of a do-gooder whine” (9). She says that Walter is the only man who “gets it” (9). Walter even says to Lyssa: “You’re being repositioned by the media as a victim feminist, which absurdly undermines your legitimacy as a power one” (47). Though his words make him seem like he is a feminist, a man who truly “gets it” and who fights for gender equality, Walter cheats on Lyssa with Quincy. He even says the age-old line: “It just happened. It didn’t mean anything” (41). I would like to call Walter a man masquerading as a feminist. Though he is an intelligent man and he seems to know a lot about equality, his actions are not that of a man who respects women. He even makes Lyssa’s nomination about himself, telling her that he does not know who he is supposed to be anymore, to which Lyssa says: “Walter, this was my nomination. Can we please not make it your humiliation?” (69). Walter is a classic example of a man who seems like a feminist but disrespects women.
Intersectional Feminism
One of the many aspects of feminism is that it should be about women supporting all women; however, as history has shown us, that is not always the case. For example, Friedan faced criticism because she called lesbians the “Lavender Menace,” thinking they were going to hurt the women’s movement. Women of color were also pushed to the side by white women in the second wave of feminism. The second wave of feminism excluded lesbians, women of color, disabled women, trans women, and more.
That is why intersectional feminism is so important, because it is not feminism unless it is intersectional. Intersectional feminism was developed by Kimberle Crenshaw in her 1989 essay, “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” The phrase, “The personal is political and the political is personal,” is saying that even if something does not directly affect you, you should still fight for it i.e. white women should fight for women of color, disabled women, LGBTQ women, and more.
How does the importance of intersectional feminism relate to the play? Well, Lyssa’s best friend is Dr. Judith B. Kaufman, a professor of oncology at Georgetown Medical School and a senior physician at its breast cancer unit (55). Judith is also black and Jewish. Judith and Lyssa first met while attending a prestigious boarding school. Despite attending the same high school and achieving excellence in their fields, Lyssa is the one nominated for Surgeon General, and her nomination is definitely correlated with the color of her skin. During Lyssa and Judith’s first interaction with Quincy, Quincy tells Lyssa that she has put “women’s health care issues on the map” and that she will be “having a wonderful life” because of Lyssa (12). When Quincy leaves, Judith says: “Why won’t she have a wonderful life because of me? Why isn’t she happy to have the opportunity to thank me? Why does it always have to be you?” (12). Though Judith perhaps says this in jest, hitting Lyssa with a pillow, her comment is rooted in the racism that women of color face and how the sexism they face is drastically different than the sexism white women face. Judith is doing amazing work in breast cancer research, comparable to Lyssa’s work. However, Lyssa’s white privilege allows her opportunities that women of color are unable to reach due to racism.
Lyssa’s privilege is noted throughout the play, such as when Walter says to Lyssa:
“This has nothing to do with a goddamned slip of paper. It doesn’t even have anything to do with your politics. It’s the women of America who are furious with you, Lizard. You’re pretty, you have two great kids, you’re successful, you’re admired, you’re thin and you have a great soul” (48).
There is a lot to unpack in this quote. The first two sentences demonstrate that a woman is attacked not only for her politics but for who she is as a person. We have seen this in the treatment of Hillary Clinton. Clinton was attacked because she was seen as cold, not warm. She was once even attacked for wearing her hair in a ponytail. The third sentence of this quote shows that yes, there are women who are mad at Lyssa for diminishing their lives, but it also leaves out how men perceive her. It has long been known that men are threatened by successful women and believe that a woman cannot do a “man’s” job. Finally, the last sentence not only notes Lyssa’s privilege as a white woman, but also her privilege as a successful career woman, a mother, and as an attractive woman. It is so important that Wasserstein included “thin” in this line, as it demonstrates how important looks play a role in a woman’s privilege. Lyssa’s thin body puts her at an advantage over women who are not thin, as thin is seen as beautiful and fat is seen as lazy and ugly.
Though Lyssa is not as privileged as a straight white male, she is the most privileged one can be as a woman.
This may now be a good time to take an intermission
if you need time to reboot before we talk about sexism.
Please return to your seats, the program is resuming.
Sexism
Women are expected to behave in a certain way and when they do not follow the “rules,” they are punished for it. Lyssa explains it perfectly, saying:
“She must be a bad, cold person. That’s why she’s achieved so much! And anyway, it would be all right if she were a man and cold. That man would be tough. But a woman? A woman from good schools and a good family who managed to do it all so easily. That woman needs to publicly suffer so we know she’s real. She needs to soften how she dresses, how she talks, so we approve of her. That kind of hardworking woman needs to learn it’s arrogant to be herself” (66-67).
Lyssa is faced with backlash and her nomination for Surgeon General is questioned when it is learned that despite being summoned, Lyssa has not served on a jury. Lyssa’s political life is then brought into turmoil. Judith sums up what happened to Lyssa perfectly:
“If Dr. Hughes were a man, this wouldn’t beat Road Runner cartoons. It’d be a non-issue, an oversight. They’d blame it on the maid or a wife” (53).
Sadly, 22 years later and this has still not changed. While a woman’s life is up for grabs and any minor transgression can be used to attack her, men are not subjected to that kind of fate. The best example I can think of is how men who are accused of sexual assault still get elected, while women who commit a crime or a transgression that is not nearly as worse as sexual assault (like not paying taxes or not attending jury duty), do not.
Let us use Hillary Clinton again as an example. Clinton’s use of a private email account was one of the reasons people disliked her. Yes, what she did was wrong, but this act was not nearly as bad as Trump’s sexual assault accusations. However, our society decided that an email account was worse than sexual assault. If Trump had used a private email account, he would not have been pushed under the bus like Hillary. As Judith says, it would have been a non-issue, just as the accusations made against Trump became a non-issue in his election.
Lyssa is attacked in ways that men would never face, and by the time the play premiered in 1996, one of the biggest examples of the 90s had already happened. In the early 1990s, Clarence Thomas became a member of the Supreme Court, despite being accused by Anita Hill of sexual harassment. These serious accusations did not hurt Thomas’ chances of being elected, while Lyssa avoiding jury duty did. Decades later and the same incident happened in 2018, as Brett Kavanaugh was elected to the Supreme Court, despite being accused by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford (and others) of sexual assault. All of these incidents show that a man can be accused of sexual assault and thrive, while women can commit a minor transgression and lose. As Lyssa says:
“I will tell Timber Tucker what’s happening is wrong. Here’s a good person who can do some good, who has done a lot of good, and a goddamn misplaced slip of paper is being used to unravel all of her possibilities. That’s unacceptable” (48).
After fighting for herself, Lyssa ends up withdrawing her nomination. Lyssa is not alone, as real-life Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood withdrew their nominations back in the 90s. Zoë Baird was President Bill Clinton’s nominee for United States Attorney General, while Kimba Wood was his nominee for federal judge. Baird, who would have been the first woman Attorney General, withdrew her nomination when it was learned that she had hired an undocumented immigrant as a nanny and had failed to pay the social security tax (“nanny tax”). Wood had also hired undocumented immigrants to take care of her children, but at the time when Wood hired them, it was legal and she did pay the social security taxes. She was still faced with backlash and withdrew her nomination. It says something that all of these women withdrew their nominations, while men like Trump, Thomas, and Kavanaugh did not withdraw their nominations after the accusations were made against them. It begs the question, “Why does Lyssa withdraw her nomination?”. People may think she was not strong enough to handle the pressure and even Lyssa questions if she wanted the job enough. However, Lyssa is a very strong woman and she very much wanted the role of Surgeon General. Lyssa has the credentials and is more than qualified for the job, but what puts her at a disadvantage is that she is a woman (and she is a straight white woman, so think of how disadvantaged other women are).
The president also ends up not protecting Lyssa, leaving her to fend for herself without his support. This also begs the question, “If she was a man, would the president be more inclined to defend her?”. It is difficult to get an exact answer, but it looks like Clinton did not defend Zoë Baird and Kimba Wood when they were under attack. When the accusations about Clarence Thomas were made, President George H. W. Bush said: “I've got strong feelings, but they all end up in support for Clarence Thomas.” And of course, Trump supported Kavanaugh after the accusations. Thus, we support men but do not support women.
Conclusion
As you can see, An American Daughter clearly reflects what was happening during the 1990s and now transcends time, still being relevant to today. However, women should not give up because the fight is not over. Despite not receiving the position of Surgeon General, Lyssa too does not give up. She returns to her work as the amazing doctor she is, and ends the play saying:
“Just tell them thank you, but I’ve gone back to my business.” (She gets up and picks up Judith’s study). “Tell them, “Our task is to rise and continue”” (74).
And we shall rise and continue.
December 7, 2018
A list of the remaining topics, both political and social,
that are discussed in An American Daughter
1. Health and health care
Lyssa: “Good health care begins with education. For example, both women and men need to learn to recognize the symptoms of heart disease. Advancing health care is a matter of advancing scientific knowledge, but just as important is advancing every individual’s knowledge” (7).
Gun control is a healthcare issue
Lyssa: “…primary care doctors are twice as likely to refer men to medical primary care doctors while women of the same age and identical symptoms and health histories are referred to psychotherapists” (64).
“…children are increasingly smoking, falling prey to drug addiction and to the rapid growth of teenage pregnancy” (66).
Environment versus genetics in cancer
2. Abortion and reproductive rights
Lyssa is pro-choice while her father is pro-life.
Lyssa has spent her life fighting for women’s health and for reproductive rights.
3. In vitro and hormone treatment
Judith has been trying to get pregnant for years through in-vitro. (This is like Wendy Wasserstein)
4. Right-wing Nazis and Left-wing people
Walter: “The senator makes you okay with the right-wing Nazis and your politics make you a pin-up for the do-gooder Commies” (15).
5. Sexuality
Sexual role-playing – A brief scene between Lyssa and Walter where they engage in sexual role-playing
Women and sex – Quincy: “Sex for Lyssa’s generation became just something else to be good at. Like weight lifting. We [new feminists], on the other hand, want to come home to a warm penis” (29).
Sexual orientation – The character of Morrow McCarthy is a gay man who is a Republican and is anti-abortion. Morrow: “In fact, I’m the worst kind of offender: gay, conservative, and total media hype” (28).
6. The role of the mother
Lyssa’s mother died when she was fourteen years old – Quincy: “…I think Lyssa’s relationship with her mother is a real negative for her” (45).
Walter: “My wife insists on spending as much time as possible with me and our twin boys. I still don’t know how she survives on five hours sleep a night. But she’ll give up her own sleep before she’d ever give up our family time” (63).
8. Suicide – Judith considered killing herself
9. Liberalism; Elitism
Works Cited
Information about feminism and its history was learned during LB Playwright’s sociology classes taken during college – Principles of Sociology and Sociology of Gender
“Nannygate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nannygate.
Rosenthal, Andrew. “THE THOMAS NOMINATION; BUSH EMPHASIZES HE BACKS THOMAS IN SPITE OF UPROAR.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Oct. 1991, www.nytimes.com/1991/10/10/us/the-thomas-nomination-bush-emphasizes-he-backs-thomas-in-spite-of-uproar.html.
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