Iris von Roten as a Feminist: Observations, Interpretations, and Impact of Frauen im Laufgitter

Authors

Regina Wecker

Keywords

Iris von Roten, women authors, feminism

Abstract

PART ONE

ASPECTS OF AN IDENTITY

When Iris von Roten published her book Frauen im Laufgitter. Offene Worte zur Stellung der Frau (Women in the Playpen. Plain Words About the Situation of Women) in 1958, it caused a scandal. Her analysis of women's present social status and their political and economic situation in Switzerland was repudiated, von Roten and her book were showered with scorn, hatred, and ridicule, and even made the subject of a carnival farce in Basel (Kochli 1992: 101-118). Frauen im Laufgitter and its author were called "cold" and soulless, though it was rumored that in many respects the book described Swiss reality as, for instance, in the journal Die Staatsburgerin (1958).

Recommended Citation

Wecker, Regina (2008) "Iris von Roten as a Feminist: Observations, Interpretations, and Impact of Frauen im Laufgitter," Swiss American Historical Society Review: Vol. 44: No. 2, Article 4.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/sahs_review/vol44/iss2/4