What is the theme in The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan?

A major theme in this book is social roles. Before World War II, many women had the choice of becoming housewives or having careers, and many sources supported either choice. Friedan measures this public opinion of women by examining the images of women in women's magazines from before and after World War II. As she notes of the magazines before World War II: "The majority of heroines in the four major women's magazines . . . were career women—happily, proudly, adventurously, attractively career women—who loved and were loved by men."