Guest blogger Sarah Erdreich brings us this fascinating look at six books that tussle with abortion in the rarest of the rare -- a pro-choice book review.
While a lot of novels revolve around unplanned pregnancy or include abortion as a subplot, finding fiction books that address abortion is a bit more of a challenge. The six discussed here — three young adult novels, three adult fiction — all have major plot points that revolve around the issue of abortion. Which means that it’s inevitable that some plot points of My Life as a Rhombus, Gingerbread, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, American Wife, The Cider House Rules, and Revolutionary Road will be spoiled -- so proceed accordingly.
Young Adult Literature
All three YA books — Rhombus, Gingerbread,and Wallflower — are set in a post-Roe society.
My Life As a Rhombus by Varian Johnson is the most in-depth of the three YA books in looking at both sides of the abortion issue. The protagonist has had an abortion early in high school, while a new friend of hers chose to continue with her pregnancy. Chronicling the experiences of these two teenagers made it possible for the author to explore the pros and cons of each option without seeming preachy, and also allowed the protagonist to grapple with her own conflicted emotions about her choice.
Gingerbread by Rachel Cohen took the breeziest approach to the subject, which is only appropriate given how breezy the book was overall. For much of the story, the abortion was secondary to the protagonist’s more immediate dramas with her new boyfriend, difficult mother, chaotic step-family, and the father she had only seen once in her life but who paid for her abortion. The plot was so frenetic and wide-ranging, not to mention eye-rollingly heavy on slang, that by the time the main character finally talks to her mother about the abortion, the conversation almost seems out of place.
My favorite of the three was definitely The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, which I first read a decade ago. The abortion only takes up a few pages of the story, which follows a teenage boy named Charlie through a pivotal year. When Charlie’s sister gets pregnant, she asks him to accompany her to the clinic; while Charlie is uneasy with this responsibility, he is honored that his sister trusts him, and makes sure that he doesn’t let her down. The siblings’ matter-of-fact approach toward abortion is perhaps more remarkable given what the reader knows about their parents, who married young in response to an unplanned pregnancy. No direct correlation is drawn between their parents’ experience and the sister’s decision, and the references to what both parents had to sacrifice are subtle. But it is clear that sacrifices were made, whereas at the end of Wallflower, Charlie’s sister is preparing for her freshman year at Vassar.
Adult Fiction
Alice Blackwell, the woman at the heart of American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld, also has few negative consequences after her 1963 abortion. After the procedure, Alice continues on with her education and career, eventually marrying a man whose political rise is as dizzying as it is unexpected, culminating in two terms as President. But after Alice ’s husband nominates an anti-choice woman to the Supreme Court, Alice finds that her long-ago abortion might become national news. The resulting brief, but intense, argument with her former doctor raises intriguing questions about what an individual’s responsibility is to herself and others, and whether Alice ’s public role obligates her to disclose a private decision.
The issue of personal responsibility plays a large role in The Cider House Rules by John Irving, a sprawling novel set in the first half of the 20th century. Dr. Wilbur Larch is driven to perform abortions out of a sense of personal responsibility, but his protégé, Homer Wells, is resolutely opposed to the practice. Larch attempts to respect Wells’ choice, but finally implores Wells to continue his work. “If abortions were legal, you could refuse – in fact, given your beliefs, you should refuse. But as long as they’re against the law, how can you refuse? How can you allow yourself a choice in the matter when there are so many women who haven’t the freedom to make the choice themselves? … You have to help them because you know how. Think about who’s going to help them if you refuse.” (See the trailer of the Cider House Rules film, here.)
April Wheeler, the unhappy wife in Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates, is one of those women that could have used Larch and Wells’ help. Of course, the 1950s housewife is so private that, after becoming unexpectedly pregnant too soon after her marriage, April seeks advice from a friend about self-aborting. Her husband, Frank, is appalled — less that she might have an abortion (“the idea itself, God knew, was more than a little attractive”) but that he feels left out of the decision-making process. When April becomes pregnant for a third time, she again considers abortion; and despite Frank’s vehement opposition, this time she uses a Good Housekeeping-approved rubber syringe, to tragic results. (See trailer of Revolutionary Road film here.)
Perhaps because books are able to explore an issue in greater depth than almost any other form of media, I felt more of a connection with the characters than with the protagonists of films or television shows that focus on the same issue. I was particularly heartened by the ways in which the YA books approached the subject. Each of the teenage girls was utterly realistic in their reasons for choosing abortion and how they reacted to that decision, and it’s refreshing to see that young adult literature encompasses this range of emotions and experiences. Because popular culture can be a very powerful tool for challenging and changing social mores, it seems particularly important for the future of abortion rights that younger readers are being exposed to a variety of thoughts and emotions about the issue, as well as reading about some of the many reasons that women choose abortion.
That said, my favorite of the six was Cider House, mainly thanks to the wonderful Wilbur Larch. But it’s not his common-sense wisdom that will stay with me. It’s the woman that came to Homer Wells half-dead from a botched abortion, that made him realize the necessity of his work: “He just kept looking and marveling at the young woman’s inflamed tissue; it looked hot enough to burn the world.”
About Sarah: When she's not writing, Sarah volunteers at her local animal shelter and reads way too much. Also see Abortion in Music by Sarah.
Pictured above: Cover,from Lisa A. Tallman's Study Guide for The Cider House Rules by John Irving.
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