Leila Landsman emerges as a character who seems to mirror Piercy herself. As a married, middle-aged academic serving as an associate professor, she is renowned for her expertise on abused women. Yet, Leila often delves into cases deemed too lurid or sensational to earn academic praise. Consequently, she is viewed as a pariah within scholarly circles—too moderate for the "true" feminists in her department, yet too radical for the conservative Ladies Guild. For years, Leila has been aware of her theater-director husband's infidelities, as he engages in affairs with young actresses he casts. However, it is only the passing of her closest female friend that forces her to confront the superficiality of her marriage. She then agrees to author a book about Becky Burgess, a young woman accused of conspiring with her teenage lover to murder her husband.

Becky's Story

Becky Burgess "grew up yearning to escape the cramped, threadbare home where her fisherman father and gentle mother raised seven children in stark poverty. She observes the women on TV, noting their speech, attire, and demeanor. Becky believes herself just as intelligent and attractive as they appear." Once she escapes the bonds of poverty and captures the attention of the broader world, she dreams of rewards she is determined to keep. Becky longs to be transformed by the power of media, and her wish is granted, though perversely, when the camera's unblinking eye scrutinizes her as a murder suspect.

Mary's Secret

Mary Burke, at sixty-one, is the eldest member of Piercy's ensemble. She cleans the homes of Boston's affluent, including Leila Landsman, and is ever-punctual. Meticulous and respectful, Mary quietly navigates her clients' lives, nearly invisible. What her clients fail to realize—and must never suspect—is that Mary is homeless. She once lived comfortably until her husband "traded her in," and her children forged lives apart from her. With cleverness and precision, Mary hides her homelessness by sleeping in her clients' homes when they are away, maintaining a post office box and a checking account. In this way, she manages to "pass" in a society where homelessness is seen as criminal—at least, for a while. Leila, Becky, and Mary all yearn for the same things: to be truly seen, valued, loved, and, above all, to possess a physical and emotional home that is truly theirs.

The Ensemble

A vibrant cast of characters fills the pages of The Longings of Women. Many elicit sympathy; a few do not. Notably, Piercy's male characters in this novel, though not in the spotlight, are portrayed with greater depth and credibility than those in her earlier works.