No Country for Women – America as an Anti-Feminist Utopia in Jacqueline Susann’s “Valley of the Dolls”

Abstract

On the eve of the second wave of feminism and the years for which it would often be said that they changed the world, a modestly successful actress from Philadelphia mesmerized the public with her dark story of sex, glamour and the world of the rich and famous. Readers were presented with another cult classic – Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. The public was delighted, the critics in shock, and what remains of that turbulent 1966 is the unfading popularity of this controversial story. Some ascribe this popularity to the author’s ingenuity, others celebrate her as a herald of feminism, while most resent the fact that she used kitsch to gain great popularity and make money. This paper will deal with the possible reasons behind the unwavering popularity of this novel almost half a century after its publication, examining at the same time whether there is truth in the claims that through her work Jacqueline Susann contributed to the advent of feminism.