Cages

Throughout the book, the concept of cages is a central image that the author uses to illustrate her point about how women, and people in general, are kept psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually imprisoned. That imprisonment, she claims, comes not as much in the form of actual physical restrictions as in the form of expectations, rules, and perceptions imposed by outside forces. She repeatedly claims that for women, and people in general, to live full and fulfilling lives, it is necessary for them to identify the cages in which their identities have been imprisoned and free themselves from those cages.

Memos

The term and concept of "memos" are used throughout the book to represent the different messages that society sends women, and people in general, about how to think and how to behave. The author suggests that in order to live free lives, people need to do the...