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

Identity is another theme in this book. When society encouraged women to be fulltime housewives and mothers, Friedan says that many women were not happy in these limited roles because the roles did not provide enough substance to form an identity. Friedan systematically examines the various outlets open to housewives, starting with housework. As her research indicates, many women who tried to base their identity on housework unconsciously took longer to do their housework than they needed to, because that was all that they had to do. Says Friedan, "no matter how much housework is expanded to fill the time available, it still presents little challenge to the adult mind."