The Giver of Stars

The Giver of Stars takes place in 1930s America while the country suffers from the effects of the Great Depression. At this time in the United States, women were second-class citizens, especially in rural locales like Kentucky. Though Alice initially imagines life in the United States as a glamorous pursuit of happiness, she soon learns that she’s expected to remain silent, submit to her husband Bennett, produce babies, and keep house. As Mr. Van Cleve reluctantly states after Alice agrees to work for the Pack Horse Library, “She could do it just till the babies come along” (26). The Pack Horse Library, not coincidentally, is championed by feminist icon Eleanor Roosevelt.

Margery O’Hare, despite being an independent woman and a mentor for Alice, finds herself in hot water after her independent way of living rubs people the wrong way. Margery refuses to marry her lover Sven, resisting the traditional notion of contractual marriage. The townsfolk assume Margery is as wicked as her father; they want her to stop acting like she has the same rights as men. Even Mrs. Brady, the staunch supporter of the library, upbraids Margery near the end of the

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