Inventing Memory Summary
Erica Jong

Inventing Memory Summary

Jong's writing has always addressed feminist issues, and Inventing Memory is no exception. The novel is dominated by women who are seeking personal fulfillment through activities other than marriage, but who find themselves in a world where marriage is the only socially accepted option. Each woman strives to express her artistic talents, to fulfill her sexual desires, to support her political ideals, and to assist her daughter in becoming a happy woman.

The importance of motherhood to each character cannot be overstated: In positive and negative ways, motherhood defines, delimits, burdens, and enriches the lives of every woman in the story.

Each woman discovers overwhelming emotional bonds upon becoming a mother; and each fails her daughter in at least one way. Mother-daughter relationships are made even more complicated by the changing social circumstances that perennially leave the older generation out of step with contemporary mores: What was a...

(read more from the Short Guide)