In Language
The term "Stepford wife" entered common use in the English language after the publication of Levin's book, and is generally used as a term of satire. It has recently been used by critics to describe Laura Bush, and Katie Holmes after her marriage to Tom Cruise. The label "Stepford wife" is usually applied to a woman who seems to conform blindly to an old-fashioned subservient role in relationship to her husband, compared to other, presumably more independent women. It can also be used to criticise any person, male or female, who submits meekly to authority and/or abuse; or even to describe someone who lives in a robotic, conformist manner without giving offense to anyone. The word "Stepford" can also be used as an adjective ("He's a real Stepford employee"), or a noun ("My home town is a Stepford"), denoting servility or blind conformity, or a seemingly perfect society hiding a dark secret.
Read more about this topic: The Stepford Wives
Famous quotes containing the word language:
““What may this mean? Language of Man pronounced
By tongue of brute, and human sense expressed!
The first at least of these I thought denied
To beasts, whom God on their creation-day
Created mute to all articulate sound;
The latter I demur, for in their looks
Much reason, and in their actions, oft appears.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“One who speaks a foreign language just a little takes more pleasure in it than one who speaks it well. Enjoyment belongs to those who know things halfway.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)