Before Women Had Wings

About the Book

Women Without Wings is a study of the lives of three young women and their mothers who lived out their lives in a time when Vietnam standards of gentility dictated the conduct of all classes. These standards did indeed insure that women had clipped wings. Myra, Anne, and "Pet" are of marriageable age the summer they received invitations to a house party, the social event of the season. This event took the happy thoughtless days of the three teenagers to the realization they were caught within the structured world that defined their behavior and had the power to choose their life partner. As the story unfolds against the background of upper-class life in the years following the civil war, we see how circumstances begin to shape the lives of the three girls whose wings are symbolically clipped. We see each girl handling the situation differently. Myra defies, Anne manipulates the system, and "Pet" succumbs and in deteriorating health; dies. This message of mothers and daughters still resonate in a powerful way for women who, today, have wings.

About the Author

Dorothy B. Schweitzer was born in Missouri in 1916. She grew up in the quiescent Southern corridor along the Mississippi flowing down to Saint Louis and beyond. She graduated from the University of Iowa, received an MFA from the Writer's Workshop University of Guanajuato, and did post-graduate work in art history. Her articles and short stories appeared in Quarterlies and other Publications during the twenty years the Author lived in Florida. The Author is a member of the National League of American Pen Women. She now lives in Nevada with her son and his family.