R.I.P.

So I just read in the Times that Betty Friedan died today. Rarely, do I care when celebrities die, particularly when those who have lived long lives, but I have to say reading about Friedan really bummed me out. She was a large part of why I wanted to attend an all-women's college and influenced the tone of my personal statement. Strangely, my advisor at Smith also was fascinated by Friedan, spending the better part of the 1990s working on a biography of her life. Anyway, on less personal note, I thought it was interesting that the article mentioned: "Despite all of her later achievements, Ms. Friedan would be forever known as the suburban housewife who started a revolution with "The Feminine Mystique." Rarely has a single book been responsible for such sweeping, tumultuous and continuing social transformation." Definitely fit with our discussion of Harriet Beecher Stowe.