First published anonymously in 1929, Ex-Wife is an account of an open marriage and eventual divorce in Jazz Age New York. Republished today, co-host of The C-Word podcast Alissa Bennett talks about its resonance for young women today
resonates at a subtle but unmissable emotional frequency, which is what makes it feel so contemporary.
ZP: In the beginning of the novel Patricia says “I have never been as sure of myself since, as I was then, when I was 24.” I found that funny, because it speaks to that early twenties kind of confidence, while also being curiously ageless, or more tied to the act of being doggedly in love. Feeling like you can will the other person’s feelings into existence if you want it badly enough.
AB: Imagine then the radicality of this gesture in 1929. I just read Marsha Gordon’s incredible biography of Ursula Parrott, in which she does a really compelling and complete sociological survey of how divorce escalated in the United States. By the end of the 20s, it was really skyrocketing, but you couldn’t get a no-fault divorce in New York, you had to go to Reno or Mexico.
She died in absolute squalor, there was a point at the end of her life when she was living on the subway. “This book comes out, and it’s like an atom bomb: not only about divorce, but about open marriages, about promiscuity, about drinking and one night stands – Alissa Bennett
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