Description: THE MANIPULATED MAN ESTHER VILAR FARRAR, STRAUS, & GIROUX NEW YORK 1972 Stated at copyright: "First American Edition, 1972. Third printing." Rare original material. Orange full cloth boards, black spine titles, moderate shelf wear. Pages near fine; name marked out at front endpaper. Deep orange endpapers. Moderate toning, discoloration to exterior text block. Deep black top-stain. Bind fine; hinges intact. Original classic wrapper, light shelf wear, crease; clipped, protected in new clear sleeve. Sharp, near fine attractive rarity. Author's bio from 1973: "Esther Vilar was born 1935 to German parents in Buenos Aires. She trained as a physician and in 1960 studied psychology and sociology in West Germany. She worked as staff doctor in a Bavarian hospital, a translator, saleswoman, assembly-line worker, shoe model, and secretary. She married German author Klaus Wagn for two years with whom they have a seven year old son." From cover: "Men have been trained - conditioned by women, as Pavlov conditioned his dogs, into becoming their slaves." Esther Vilar, an 'honest' feminist, posits the secret underlying motivation for the movement of the 60s and 70s was not so much independence, but rather division of the sexes and a collar round man's neck. Ideas are the most dangerous to establishment objectives and that is apparently why Vilar's perspective is censored by the largest world-wide booksite. Rather ironic that a "feminist," Vilar, posits that most "modern" men are tamed and exploited without conscious realization, by women. From wrapper description: This book is dedicated to all those whom it does not mention: to the few who refuse to be manipulated, the few women who are not venal, and to all fortunate enough to have lost their market value because they are too old, ugly, or ill. Modern man: grinding away at a dull but fairly lucrative job; he is not much more exciting than a robot. His intelligence has been numbed subconsciously into believing that his sole function is to provide for his wife and one or more infants. A rather harsh, but potentially correct assessment if scenario in the negative. From earliest childhood, men are emotionally blackmailed by women, first by their mothers, then by their wives. As a child, a man becomes addicted to maternal praise; as an adult, he marries a woman who will maintain this addiction as well as enhance it by gratifying his sexual needs. This is the relationship commonly called "love." Vilar posits that woman uses her brain as infrequently as possible except to deceive and control. Her primary goal is to keep herself beautiful and to give the illusion of being intensely busy (while, in fact, doing mindless chores). At all costs she will avoid doing work that is really exacting. Vilar's intention is not misogynous: it is to place the blame for sexual inequality squarely where it belongs, on the shoulders of women themselves. As Esther Vilar puts it: "Only women can break this vicious circle of exploitation. But they will not break it, for they have no rational reason for doing so. Thus the world will continue to sink into a kitschy, barbaric, and feeble-minded morass of femininity." Germaine Greer, in a then contemporaneous debate with Vilar on BBC-TV, said: "I think her book really needs to be considered quite seriously. ...it's true in an outrageous sort of way that many women live as parasites. The amount of truth the book contains should be recognized, but the nature of the phenomenon should be explored more." Contents: "The Slave's Happiness; What Is Man?; What Is Woman?; The Horizon of a Woman; The Fair Sex; It's a Man's Universe; Woman - Divine by Right of Stupidity; Breaking Them In; Manipulation by Means of Self-Abasement; A Dictionary; Women Have No Feelings; Sex as a Reward; The Female Libido; Manipulation Through Bluff; Commercialized Prayers; Self-Conditioning; Children as Hostages; Women's Vices; The Mask of Femininity; The Business World as a Hunting Ground; The 'Emancipated' Female; American Man - the Most Successfully Manipulated Male on Earth; and, What Is Love?" Intriguing that Vilar presents criticism of both "house-wives" and the then modern female character including feminism. Standard second wave feminism mostly blamed men for limited life experiences and led women of the '70s to leave the home alone and go to work. This created the increasingly more common unmarried young lady becoming older; and/or, the absent mother and father - with both parents at a job and disintegration of the family structure with children left unraised. Vilar, congruent with the feminist movement, does critique excess femininity: the warm, motherly, child-rearing nature - right in moderation but often overwrought. Both Vilar and the second wave present valid truths in part: Vilar holds women accountable and feminism turns its sites on men. Vilar's ideas, though, must be considered dangerous, and have been suppressed. The establishment want wives and women to rule the roost and the world; and men to remain semi-subjugated. Vilar criticizes excessive warmth and softness, and also, the cold, heartless business transaction. Right or wrong, Vilar's perspectives are fairly unique and threatening to status quo conditioning. Printed in the USA. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall. 184 pages. Insured post.
Price: 450 USD
Location: Rapid River, Michigan
End Time: 2025-01-03T18:02:42.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
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Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: 10%
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Binding: Fine Binding
Language: English
Special Attributes: 1st Edition, Dust Jacket
Author: Esther Vilar
Topic: Feminist Objective
Subject: Societal Planning
Original/Facsimile: Original