The Secret History of Wonder Woman
by Jill Lepore
Not only is Wonder Woman’s origin
story not really known, how the character came to be is equally
mysterious. Until now. Lepore hunted around lots of archives and sorted
through personal papers to get to the heart of Wonder Woman’s creation. What she uncovered is the nontraditional
family of the creator that fed his creation, as well as the roots of feminism
and women’s rights that sparked the imagination of one man to create the first
enduring, and it can be argued, only enduring, female superhero.
William Moulton Marston is an
interesting juxtaposition of differing perspectives and ideals. He is dedicated to the cause of women’s
rights, believes women will come to rule the world and rightfully so in his
opinion, yet he lives in a household of seven individuals: his wife, his four
children, and the mother of two of the four.
All seven live in harmony but the “not legal” wife lives in fear that
her children will discover her secret, one that they do not know until they are
adults. Marston is a famous (or should I
say infamous) inventor, having created the lie detector machine (can you say
golden lasso?) and he also was one of the first psychology professors teaching
the subject as a discipline rather than an offshoot of philosophy.
I found the personalities behind
Wonder Woman’s creation intriguing, but I really enjoyed learning about the
women who fought for women’s rights to birth control that inspired her
creation. Wonder Woman doesn’t form
until about two-thirds of the way through the book, so I was a little
disappointed in that. I was hoping for
more about the character, but the characters behind the character are
fascinating.
I recommend this book to those
looking for an in-depth profile of an almost forgotten creator of part of
American pop culture, with a story stranger than fiction at its core.
