A SOUTHERN BELLE IN PARIS

A story of personal transformation and reclaiming oneself.

In this engaging memoir, St. Clair, a writing teacher and coach, shares her journey from sheltered Southern belle to liberated steel magnolia with many adventures along the way. She grew up accepting the conventions of White Southern womanhood in mid-20th-century America, which included graciousness and docility in an atmosphere of conservative Christianity, racism, and sexism. In some ways, her first act of rebellion was marriage at 18 to an older Romanian immigrant. During her marriage, she lived a restricted existence as a military officer’s wife; simply finishing her college degree seemed daring. Then her life was transformed when her husband was stationed in Paris; ensuing chapters chronicle St. Clair’s connection to the French second-wave feminist movement. As she embraced feminism, her marriage came apart, and she experienced other personal upheavals before rediscovering (and transforming) herself as a strong Southern woman. Overall, St. Clair offers a moving memoir. However, her opening anecdote about sexual harassment doesn’t make for a clear introduction to the rest of the text. Also, some of her earlier and later reminiscences seem disjointed, and readers should be aware of a chilling account of marital rape. The memoir works best as an insider’s look at a particular era of the feminist movement, including a portrait of some activists’ emphasis on ideological purity. However, somewhat disturbingly, some sections seem to imply that lesbianism is a choice. Still, this book is valuable as a rueful and thoughtful acknowledgment of the perils of liberation—St. Claire’s lover proved to be almost as problematic as her husband—as well as its possibilities.

An inspiring and nuanced memoir of second-wave feminism.