I found it amusing, therefore, when Metaxas' first great woman was Joan of Arc.
That's hardly "equality." It is ironic that such a standard is so built into our culture that this concept was slightly startling to me. We think of this as putting men and women on equal terms, but it actually pits them against each other in a zero-sum competition.
Metaxas begins the book by considering the way our culture often highly celebrates women who compete with men, as if there is no other way to measure a woman's value. Some I had never heard of, such as Saint Maria of Paris and Susanna Wesley. Some are familiar, like Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks. Just as he did in 7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness Eric Metaxas shares brief biographies of seven inspirational women. I absolutely stand by my review of this book. Update, July 2020: Eric Metaxas is absolute trash, a *rump supporter, anti-BLM, "Covid is a hoax" and deranged right wing lunatic. Several women I am positive do not fit into the same ranks as Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks, but because they were good Christians and anti-feminists, Metaxas included them (Susanna Wesley, Hannah More, Saint Maria of Paris). Some of the women Metaxas selected I had never heard of, some I have read biographies or autobiographies of (Joan of Arc, Corrie Ten Boom) that were FAR superior to the synopsis Metaxas wrote. Women who break the mold and are pioneers in feminism he dismisses out of the hat as unseemly radicals, while praising those who excel in "womanly" ways. I suppose there lies my issue with the unifying Christian/supporting the religious and governmental patriarchy theme. In his introduction he blatantly states he is anti-feminist, and my heart sank. The subtitle of this book should be "The Secret of Their Greatness is Christianity and Adhering to Traditional Female Roles." Not that there is anything wrong with being a Christian woman, but I was disappointed that was the unifying theme Metaxas chose for these women.
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