Peyton Place Meeting

Peyton Place Meeting
June 3, 2006
Location: Wendy’s living room in Dorchester
In Attendance: Anne, Beth, Cynthia, Donna, Erin, Paula, and Wendy

After much date deliberation, we were finally able to meet to discuss the scandal-rific Peyton Place. We met at my house and ate incredible amounts of unhealthy snacks that featured high-class ingredients like Ritz crackers, Cool Whip, and brownie mix…YUM! Reviews on Peyton Place were mixed, but the discussion was lively. Here are some highlights:

Characters:
Most of us disliked all of the characters—a small problem! We thought Allison was supposed to be Grace Metalious, but many of us found her prissy (Donna’s descriptor…love that one) and annoying (me!). Selena had her moments of being admirable, but made bizarre choices like covering-up her step-father’s murder. There seemed to be a strong anti-male bias in the book, what with the enema-loving, peeping-Tom Norman; the quasi-rapist Tom (Anne was not into how Tom supposedly opened up Constance sexually through what appears to be a rape scene); and the ultra obnoxious Rodney. Beth reported that Rachel read a Vanity Fair article about Metalious that portrayed her husband as a nasty character, which certainly might have influenced her depiction of men.

Scandal:
Although PP is not very scandalous by today’s standards, there were certainly elements that we found disturbing (the alcohol binging scene; the rape of Selena by her step-father; Norman and his enemas administered by his mother). Erin noticed that what Metalious was most criticized for at the time (her treatment of sex, such as Rodney and Betty’s scene on the beach) is not what scandalized or disturbed us the most. We were perplexed as to why her treatment of sex ‘rocked a nation to its core!’ when sex had been written about well before Peyton Place ever was secretly read in bedroom closets. Paula suggested that it might have been a combination of the conservatism of the 1950s when it was published and the fact that Metalious was both a woman and a mother.

Also, several of us had the experience of telling older co-workers about reading the book and getting big reactions. Beth’s co-worker called the book ‘smutty’ and remembered her mom throwing the book in the trash. Anne’s co-workers were very excited that she was reading the book and couldn’t stop talking about it. So although the book seems somewhat forgotten in the literary canon (not surprising, as we all decided Grace wasn’t exactly an amazing writer), its impact certainly lingers on in the baby-boomer generation.

Favorite confusing / disturbing moments:

• The alcohol binge scene: what is up with that? Many of us found that this plot diversion was both bizarre and incredibly gross!
• Kathy losing her arm at the fun house…What? Huh? Why?
• Norman’s scary old voyeur lady neighbor and her coincidentally-timed death when Norman happens to be hiding under her porch (at least, I think that is where he was when she died…my recollection for plot details is becoming a bit fuzzy by now).

Plot/Writing:
Many of us liked the twists and turns of the plot, but some just didn’t work. Beth pointed out that after Kathy loses her arm (at the fun house…I mean, where else do people lose arms?) and Allison goes to NYC, it seems as though Metalious is just going through the motions. Anne was frustrated by Metalious’ writing and all the plot twists. Donna and I liked the twists, though they were often unbelievable. Donna compared it to a soap opera—and certainly the television version of PP helped to shape the soap opera genre.

Memorable comments:
Anne: A key life lesson from Peyton Place: if you reveal your breast in a car, you will die!
Cynthia: (Of the town) I’m glad I didn’t live there!

Final thoughts:
Although many of us had mixed feelings about the book and the writing, we all finished it (!) and the book generated a great discussion. Paula said that she likes reading pivotal books like this, as they are so embedded in American culture. We wondered whether any book has made such an impact since – perhaps Valley of the Dolls, Thornbirds, or Judy Blume’s adult novels? – but we are not convinced that any book has created such a stir…although as I write this, I do remember quite a bit of controversy when Rushdie’s Satanic Verses was published. And there was the whole Madonna coffee table sex book…talk about contributing to American culture! : )

The next book is Cynthia’s pick: Pride of Family: Four Generations of American Women of Color by Carole Ione.

Happy reading! Wendy