Review of The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore

I borrowed this book from the library, expecting not to like it. I was not disappointed. (In the interest of full disclosure, I will say right now that I am not a feminist.)

It was well-researched. However, Lepore made sure we knew how well-researched it was. She used paragraphs to say something that could have been said in one sentence. I personally did not need to know the whole life stories of William Moulton Marston, Elizabeth Holloway Marston and Olive Byrne.

I kept reading out of morbid curiosity to see how bad things would get. I learned why things that bothered me in the first volume of the Wonder Woman Omnibus (e.g., women who have been freed from slavery still wanting to wear chains) were there. Marston was into bondage and believed “The secret of woman’s allure is that women enjoy submission – being bound.” He insisted that every story included Wonder Woman being bound.

Among the women who inspired Wonder Woman were Marston’s wife, Elizabeth, his mistress, Olive, and Olive’s aunt, the infamous Margaret Sanger. (Although to be fair, I have read in a few different sources that Sanger eventually abandoned her support for abortion. I have not read anything one way or the other if she also abandoned her racism and support for eugenics.)

Once I got past Lepore’s problem of showing us all her research (doing lots of research – good; showing us all her research in her book – bad), I do not find a lot of admirable qualities in the Wonder Woman Marston created. I will take Silver Age Wonder Woman over Golden Age Wonder Woman any day of the week. Men were frequently depicted in the Golden Age Wonder Woman as brutes who treat women as chattel. It was not about female equality, it was about female superiority. Even Steve Trevor, in a nightmare Wonder Woman had, expected a no longer super-powered Wonder Woman to stay home and take care of him.

Marston was a classic beta male. He could not keep a job, his wife wanted children but did not want to take care of them. Her job provided financial support for the family. His mistress stayed at home to take care of the children. Olive claimed to be a widow and that her children were fathered by her late husband, not by Marston, as was the reality. There were four children, two by his wife, two by his mistress. All of which was kept under wraps until recently.

The infamous Fredric Wertham despised comic books, believing them to be a negative influence on children. Most of his subjects were reformatory residents, which obviously skewed his results. He already decided what he wanted to find – and found it. Wonder Woman was a major target. Robert Kanigher, who took over Wonder Woman after Marston, was not a fan of Marston’s Wonder Woman and did whatever he wanted with her. His Wonder Woman became a romance editor. Eventually a balance was struck between Moulton’s version and Kanigher’s version.

The Secret History of Wonder Woman was not a particularly enjoyable read, but it did give me insight into how feminists view things. It was too long, somewhat boring and plodding. It was not an effective way to get across her message, even if it had been a message I approved of.  I cannot recommend this book under any circumstances. Two thumbs way, way down on this one.