Lois Duncan

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Daughters of Eve

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In the following essay, Cyrisse Jaffee criticizes Lois Duncan's "Daughters of Eve" for its portrayal of a women's liberation figure as a mentally disturbed antagonist and argues that while the novel effectively builds suspense, it ultimately presents a regressive message by depicting sisterhood as dangerously powerful.

[Daughters of Eve is a] slick, scary occult novel with a stereotypical "women's libber" (bitter, frustrated, ultimately revealed as mentally disturbed) as the force of evil. Irene Stark, the new faculty advisor of the Daughters of Eve, an exclusive social club for girls at a suburban Michigan high school, encourages the members to become more socially conscious and assertive…. The only doubter is Tammy Carncross, whose ESP (an artificial device) warns her that something is wrong. She is, of course, correct. Ms. Stark has been manipulating the girls and channeling their anger into a vicious hatred of men…. The inevitable denouement is a cold-blooded murder…. Though some may object to the violence, most YAs will be drawn by the ease with which this popular author builds suspense. But none of the characters are more than stick figures and the implication that sisterhood is not only powerful but downright dangerous is hardly a progressive message.

Cyrisse Jaffee, in her review of "Daughters of Eve," in School Library Journal (reprinted from the September, 1979 issue of School Library Journal, published by R. R. Bowker Co./A Xerox Corporation; copyright © 1979), Vol. 26, No. 1, September, 1979, p. 155.

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