City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert | Book Review | May 2021
The first thing that drew me to this novel is the premise of 1940's New York, a sexual revolution and the coming of age of protagonist, Vivian. The format appears to be a first person narrative/epistolary form to 'Angela'. 'Angela' is a character that we come to know more about near the end of the novel, and the connections that Vivian has with her.
The novel starts with the confusion and sense of anomie that Vivian has with life. It's the late 1930's-early 1940's, where the role of women was changing indefinitely. She was in a boarding school, most definitely bored out of her mind. She would sneak out to the local bars and flirt with the local men, but making sure she never went out of her way to become promiscuous. Thus begins the journey of sexual freedom that Vivian entails. Vivian becomes excused from Vassar (the boarding school she was attending), yet little did she know that this was going to become the best thing to happen to her. Better yet, moving to New York with her Aunt Peg would be the most life-changing experience.
There is an important message about place in the novel. Vivian immediately finds herself feeling at 'home' in New York City, whilst her home-town of Clinton gave her unsettled feelings of disappointment and parental pressure. This might support the notion of cultural change between the North and South of the USA, and the sexual and social awakening that Vivian explores. Aunt Peg is the owner of the Lily Playhouse, where they create mediocre plays for the working class population of New York. Being engrained in the theatre business, Aunt Peg is an adoring and fun individual in which she relies on alcohol in some instances to keep afloat. Her partner (who incidentally seems to run the whole playhouse with her business minded head), Olive was the stern-minded but protective character that in some aspects got on your nerves from her lack of 'fun'.
'Our rules, they don't mean a thing. The world just happens to you sometimes, is what I think. And people just gotta keep moving through it, best they can'.
As soon as Vivian sets foot in the Lily Playhouse, she is amazed and infatuated with the beauty of the show girls, their beautiful ornate bodies and the way their costumes fit them like a glove. If I haven't mentioned before, there's a running theme at the start of the novel that foreshadows Vivian's occupation during most of her adult life in a sewing machine. She's a dab hand at creating an outfit and designing specific costumes for showgirls and further on for brides to be. That is what becomes Vivian's job at the Lily Playhouse, the tailor. She uses the local garment shop and meets the quirky and wonderful young girl, who later becomes her business partner. It's refreshing to read such a character that goes against the social norms of the time, they didn't expect to get married or depend on a man. They were independent women who took advantage of their beauty and dazzling features.
Sex is a significant theme in the novel. Before Vivian arrives in New York she was very much the virginal Southern belle. The girls that surrounded her at the Playhouse persuaded her to change this and took her to married veterinarian for her first time. It's interesting to read about the morals and thoughts around virginity, and to Vivian she seemed to just want to get it over with, even though she dreamt of lust, love and desire as her first time. Sex then became to her a vice for pleasure and enjoyment. The Southern Belle has engaged in her own sexual revolution and freedom. Sex is conversed with easily, discussing the scares of STI's, STD's and pregnancy for women.
'Sex is so often a cheat- a short cut of intimacy. A way to skip over knowing somebody's heart by knowing instead their mere body' p.458.
The biggest scandal offers a way back to Vivian's old life in Clinton. She gets caught kissing the husband of friend and famous English actress, Edna Parker Watson who had become homeless when her London home was bombed in the Blitz. The embarrassment and torture is saved by her brother Walter, who took her back to Clinton. She was back where she started. She starts to build a rather mundane life for herself, by working as a receptionist at her Father's business and courting someone from the office. Truthfully to Vivian, she knew this wasn't what she wanted. Her lover proposed to her, yet as the USA entered World War II in Europe he enlisted and broke off the engagement. She was relieved. Vivian encapsulates a woman that is trapped within the social norms of 1940's America, yet knows in her heart that she belongs in New York. Vivian sees New York as where the Land of the Free are living, and freedom for her is what she needs and craves.
In a moment of fate, Aunt Peg arrives on the door stop of Vivian's parents house. She demands Vivian return with her to New York to work in the shipyard, helping to create plays and costu
'at some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is'
The character of Vivian can reach out and connect with a lot of readers, she just starting her independence, and it reassures young women especially that it's okay to make mistakes and not everything will go your own way. It's all a learning curve. The book embodies female empowerment, friendship and connection. By the end of the novel Vivian has developed a very close friendship with a comrade of Walter's, who has never recovered from the mental and physical effects of the Second World War. Even in the early hours of the morning whenever Frank called she was there. It's a story of platonic love and respect for those that stick by you. You find out that Frank in fact is Angela's father, and Vivian has shared her whole youthful story with Angela and the connections that it has brought in the world of New York City.
'We must take out pleasures where we can find them. Let us not become so cautious that we forget to live'
The idea of place is cyclical, especially with New York City. As readers, we experience it pre-War, through the coming of age experiences of Vivian, the female empowerment that comes with who Vivian surrounds herself with. Vivian doesn't depend on men for financial or social matters, she's entirely independent, and I think her experiences with men have brought her to realise that if you choose to be, you can be happy without the pressure of marriage, heterosexuality and the 20th century norms and values for women. The true message that I take from the novel is that there is no linear journey for life, you can't plan your life because there are always going to be unexpected moments.
I highly recommend this novel for a fantastic coming of age text, that involves betrayal, grief, female friendship, sex, sexuality and female empowerment. It's 4.5/5 stars for me!
Happy Reading!
Rose x
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