Fiction can sometimes portray feminism more clearly than scientific research or cultural commentary. Reading this novel didn’t teach me about feminism—it taught me about my deep emotional response to my own experience of womanhood, while also giving me a permanent implant of empathy for what feels like the entire human history of the female experience. This book (as well as the film adaptation with Anne Bancroft) is my go-to when I need to recapture those feelings when I fear they’ve become endangered.