Readers' letters to the editors of Soviet women's magazines depict a society where household appliances break down, hus- bands drink heavily, and the process of divorce is often costly and time-consuming; where wage scales are low, where child care conflicts with the need to work, and husbands refuse to help with the household chores.
One cartoon shows a frenzied wife, exhausted from eight hours on the job, hurrying to prepare her family's supper. The husband, in house slippers, lounges in front...