Book #2 - "Let Me Be A Woman"

I finished this book this afternoon and was determined to write about it right away, so that I'm caught up! This book is a classic, in that I'm sure many people (especially women, of course) have already read it.
The author, Elisabeth Elliot, is the wife of the famous missionary/martyr Jim Elliot. At the time this book was published in 1976, she had been single, married three times and widowed twice. One might call her an 'expert' on the issues of relationships, contentment with being single and a woman's role in life and relationships. In 1999, she wrote a short introductory note to this book explaining the background and what was happening in society as it was being written: "This book was written at the height of the strong feminist movement that swept through our country in the seventies and eighties. Women were told that they ought to get out of the house and do something 'fulfilling'."
This book is very unique in style. It is comprised of 49 chapters and yet the book's length is only 175 pages. So each chapter is, at most, three pages long - yet so much information is packed into those pages! If you had the time, it would probably be best to read one chapter a day. It is also unique in that it is extremely personal, for it is a mother writing to her daughter. The full title is: "Let Me Be A Woman - Notes to My Daughter on the Meaning of Womanhood." In the same introductory note mentioned previously, she states to her daughter (who has now been married 23 years as of 1999), "So I wrote a book as my wedding present to you, putting down in black and white the great eternal principles that distinguish men from women." I love it when authors plainly state the purpose of their book! It makes my job a lot easier :) Elliot is gifted in that she writes both extremely simply and yet extremely intellectually at the same time - which is why all of her books are a pleasure to read.
It's difficult to create an outline for the book as you get the very intimate sense that Elliot would write something as it came to mind, then maybe she went out for the day or out for a walk, thought of something she wanted to say and would write it down when she returned. I personally think that is why the chapters are so short - each chapter is a thought that has come to her that she wishes to pass along to her daughter. Be assured that this in no way makes the book disjointed, rather it emphasizes each point in a concise manner. However some of the broader issues (to name just a few) that she deals with are:
- The Order of Creation: Women for Man
- Submission and Authority in Marriage
- Masculinity and Femininity
- What Makes a Marriage Work
- What Marriage is: A Union, A Mirror, A Vocation
- Humility and Equality
- As a Woman, who do you marry?
     - You marry a sinner
     - You marry a man
     - You marry a husband
     - You marry a person

Once again, there are far too many interesting and excellent quotes and arguments to list but here are a few that I both enjoyed and yet challenged me:

- "Christian love is action. It is the warp and woof of marriage, and because marriage itself is a life work, this love is worked out through all the days and years of marriage, growing as it is practiced, deepening as cares and responsibilities deepen, and turning, at the same time, those cares and responsibilities (and even the drudgeries) into deeper joy." (pg. 172)
- (Quoting Isak Dinesen from Out of Africa): "(The right kind of) pride is faith in the idea that God had when He made us. A proud man is conscious of the idea and aspires to realize it. He does not strive towards a happiness, or comfort, which may be irrelevant to God's idea of him. His success is the idea of God, successfully carried through, and he is in love with his destiny." (pg. 17)
- "We are given (gifts) by a divine Giver who knows the end from the beginning, and wants above all else to give us the gift of Himself. It is within the sphere of the circumstances He chooses for us - single, married, widowed - that we receive Him. It is there and nowhere else that He makes Himself known to us. It is there we are allowed to serve Him." (pg. 26)

I hope I've whetted your appetite for more - there are so many more gems contained in this book! As a single person, who has now read this book twice, may I be so bold to say that IF and WHEN I am to be married, I will definitely read this book again - consider it a "marriage manual". It defines marriage, prepares one for marriage, and for those who are married, it holds many good reminders. It is, I would say, more geared towards women (hence the title!) but for any men wishing to have help in knowing the Biblical guidelines and principles for womanhood, then by all means read this book. When you finish it, you may feel overwhelmed (as I did!) at the wealth of knowledge that you have just read, but it is a very readable book in itself and one I would definitely recommend.
Leanne, if you are reading this...one confession. This is, in fact, your book (evidence of this is your maiden name written inside!) and so I will return it the next time I see you. :)
Anybody who lives locally and is wanting this book, PBS does sell it for around $7! :)
As always, comments are welcome below.