Heidi Holland and Feminism in The Heidi Chronicles
             Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles attempts to
             demonstrate the futility of the women's rights movement, and its incapacity to fulfill the needs of all women. We trace the main character, Heidi, from the time she develops an interest in men, 1964, to the time where she gives up on men and decides to fulfill her own needs for a family by adopting a child. Wasserstein shows the infiltrating changes in the life of American women with humor and sentimentality. Trapped between the controlling factors of responsibility and love, men and motherhood, gender and political theory, Heidi and her friends search for understanding and selfhood over a 40-year span.
             In many ways, Heidi is a passive character. She is torn between her own desires and the influence of those around her when deciding the course of her life. For example, in Act 1 Scene 2, she meets Scoop. It is obvious she does not want to talk to him, but instead if being direct, she lies about her name: "I know your name is Heidi because it says so on your name tag. Heidi. H-E-I-D-I" (Wasserstein 173). Scoop catches her in her lie, putting her on the spot. The whole situation could have been avoided, however, had she a more confrontational temperament.
             She is also very non-committal in her involvement with women's rights. There is even a hilarious 1970s consciousness-raising session set in an Ann Arbor church basement. Act 1 Scene 3 demonstrates the general voice of the women's movement. Although she is not a lesbian, as are some others in the group, Heidi participates, although only half-heartedly. As Fran then says to her, "You either shave your legs or you don't" (Wasserstein 180). That is to say, she can either be involved or not, there is no in between path.
             In Sue Ellen Case's article titled "Radical Feminism and Theater&quo
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