“Why is a woman to be treated differently? Woman suffrage will succeed, despite this miserable guerilla opposition.” –Victoria Woodhull
Women’s suffrage was legalized in
the United States in 1919. Before it that many women fought tirelessly
for equal rights for women, including the right to vote. The Cure for
Dreaming by Cat Winters is a story about Olivia Mead, a teenager growing up
in the early 1900s who feels trapped by the limited expectations for her as a
girl. She wants to pursue an education and follow her dreams of having a
career. This isn’t easy for her as she lives in a time when society’s
expectations for women are limited to caring for a household only. It doesn’t
help matters that her father is adamant about her quitting school and working
full time to care for him and their home after her mother leaves to pursue her
own dreams of becoming an actress. The local suffrage movement, an interest
that ultimately puts her in danger, intrigues Olivia. This interest also
ignites a fire in her that prompts her to risk everything for what she believes
in. The main character’s feelings about women’s suffrage are greatly influenced
by the other characters in the book, especially her father and the
suffragettes.
When Olivia’s father finds out that
she attended a protest for women’s suffrage he hires a hypnotist named Henri
Reverie to hypnotize Olivia so that she is forced to “...accept the world the way
it is” (59). In other words, to accept that her place in life is to stay at
home and take care of him and the house. This works to a certain extent, but an
unexpected side affect of the hypnotism is that she gains the ability to see
people for who they really are. She discovers that her father is a sadist, and that he drove her mother away because he tried to hold her back from pursuing an acting
career. She sees that he is doing the same to her. Instead of holding her back,
his actions only make her convictions stronger. She wants to be part of the movement for women’s rights. She stays true to who she is and stands up to her
father in order to continue on a path that she believes to be right for her,
and for all women. This prompted me to contemplate important social movements and protests
happening today.
Although women have gained the
right to vote and much has changed since the early 1900s, equal rights for
women is still an important issue. For example, on average women still make
only seventy cents for each dollar a man makes. Olivia is a character who was
ahead of her time in her thinking. Although just a teenager, she was drawn to
the work of the suffragettes, and longed to join them in their protesting. Most people at the time
thought that their efforts were futile, and that they were simply a bunch of
silly women with too much time on their hands. Olivia was inspired by their
determination and could see the importance of their work even when the progress
they were making was difficult to see. At the end of the story she expresses
that “There’s much hope. There’s so much work too-ridiculous amounts of
work-but above all, hope.” (337) I think people can learn a lot from this book
about how change takes time and effort to happen, especially when it comes to
civil rights issues.
Olivia Mead is an example of a
strong character who grows even stronger in her convictions from the influence
of other characters in the story. The main character’s dedication to women’s
rights is admirable. I learned a great deal about resilience and not giving
into the pressures of those around you, even close family members. Others can connect to this idea because
everyone is influenced in some way by various people in their lives. It can be
difficult to discern sometimes whether those influences are positive or
negative. We can learn a lot from those around us, however it is important to
stay true to yourself.
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