If Mrs. America were made in, say, the 1980s, its structure would be the same: A dutiful housewife, smothered by her husband and societal norms, becomes politically active and changes the course of the culture.
It would probably star Jane Fonda. Except Jane probably won’t have given the character the dignity of a portrayal. Because the woman at the focus of Mrs.
America isn’t a feminist rebelling against those norms, but one fighting to defend them. Her name was Phyllis Schlafly, one of the most