The Female Persuasion: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

Greer has come down to New York City by bus to interview with Faith Frank for a position at Bloomer. Though she doesn’t really love the magazine—it has not embraced radical politics like some of its competitors and has grown “soft”—she knows that she wants to be in Faith’s presence.

When Greer rings the bell at Bloomer’s office, no one answers. She reflects on the recent weeks leading up to this moment—after a disappointing job search, Greer finally decided to use Faith’s business card and called the magazine to introduce herself. The next day, Faith’s assistant had called her back and offered her an interview, noting that Faith remembered Greer. At last, the door to Bloomer’s office building opens. Inside the office, Greer can see Faith comforting a crying woman. A nearby employee tells Greer that Amelia Bloomer, the woman for whom the magazine was named, has died, and that the magazine will be folding soon.

Faith gathers her staff around her and gives a speech, while the stunned Greer looks on. Faith congratulates her fellow editors for all their hard work and urges them to recognize that no matter what, they are all a part of “the history of women’s struggle for equality.” First, she tells the women not to cry, but then she urges her employees to get all of their emotions out, so that they can go right back to work doing something new. The staff applauds Faith, and Greer, feeling “congested with disappointment,” disappears back into the hallway.

That night, Greer writes Faith an email, thanking her for her tireless work at Bloomer and lamenting the missed opportunity at an interview with Faith. She then forgets about the job and sends her resume out to different companies and nonprofits. One day, Cory announces disappointing news: the consulting firm that hired him, Armitage & Rist, wants him to work in their Manila office in the Philippines and are offering him more money to do so. Greer is upset and wonders if she and Cory will ever get the chance to be together in the same place. Cory tells Greer that he has to take the job, and Greer reluctantly supports him.

Greer and Zee pack up their dorm room, sad to leave college and disappointed by the lackluster lives waiting for them. Zee is moving home to Scarsdale, New York to live with her parents and train to be a paralegal. Her parents have “semi-forced” her into this plan, since Zee has no other job opportunities lined up. Zee’s desire to be an activist and a community organizer seems silly to her parents, who are both judges.

Greer, meanwhile, heads home to Macopee and takes a job at the local roller rink while she figures out what to do next. She is no longer angry with her parents but feels disconnected from them and longs to leave home as soon as she can. As she and Cory adjust to the time difference between them, they miss one another deeply and continue to dream of the day when they’ll finally live together.

Late one night, Greer receives an email from Faith Frank. Apologizing for not having written back sooner, Faith thanks Greer for her kind note and says that she is putting together a team for a “grand new venture.” She can’t provide more details about it but asks if Greer would like to interview for the project. Greer writes back right away and tells Faith that she is “VERY” interested in arranging an interview. Faith writes back instantaneously, telling Greer that her assistant will be in touch in the morning to schedule something. At the end of her email, Faith asks why the two of them are still awake and jokingly suggests they hit themselves over the head with frying pans to get to sleep. Greer writes back that she is too excited by the prospect of an interview to sleep at all.

Three days later, Greer returns to New York for an interview with Faith. At a midtown skyscraper, Greer meets Faith’s assistant, Iffat Khan, who brings Greer into Faith’s office. Faith greets Greer warmly, and Greer hands Faith a frying pan, which she has bought as a gag gift. Faith appreciates the gesture but tells Greer that she wants to “get down to business.” She begins telling Greer that after Bloomer closed, she received a call from an old friend, Emmett Shrader, a famous venture capitalist, who made an offer to fund a women’s foundation which will connect speakers and audiences and discuss “the most urgent issues concerning women today.” Faith knows that there will be some backlash to the venture, since “Shrader being Shrader,” has funded “questionable ventures” over the years. Though the foundation is a risk, it’s one Faith wants to take.

Faith goes on to tell Greer that she does what she can in the name of women’s issues. She knows that women in powerful positions are often subjected to criticism, but she also knows from her years of work as an activist that “the world is big enough for different kinds of feminists to coexist.” Faith excitedly tells Greer that though the main focus of the venture will be speakers and summits, there will occasionally be room for a “special emergency project” that directly impacts the lives of women all over the world. The entire venture sounds “blurry” and vague to Greer, but she nonetheless wants the position badly.

Faith tells Greer that the foundation will be called Loci, and that they’ll need to assemble a team quickly to get things off the ground. Emmett Shrader, she says, has already rented out an entire floor of the building for Loci’s offices. Faith gestures to the ceiling and informs Greer that ShraderCapital’s offices are just upstairs from them. Faith tells Greer that she is a promising individual and offers her a job. Greer excitedly accepts, and Faith warns her that much of the entry-level job will be boring at first, but there will be many opportunities to get involved in all aspects of the foundation. As Faith explains the specifics of the job, Greer is so excited that she can hardly sit still. 

Two weeks later, Zee helps Greer to move into a small studio apartment in Brooklyn. The apartment is tiny and dingy, but Greer is excited to have a place all to herself. Greer gives Cory a tour of the space via video chat and excitedly tells him that one day he’ll get to come visit her neighborhood. After Greer is completely moved in, it is time for Zee to go. Zee doesn’t want to leave, and Greer doesn’t want her to go either, so Greer offers to give Zee a key so that she can come visit any time. When Zee leaves, Greer feels lonely, but she slowly begins exploring her new neighborhood and settling into her new building.

A few nights later, Zee comes back to Brooklyn to meet Greer for a drink. Both girls are starting their new jobs the next day. Zee praises Greer for having secured such an awesome job and then reaches into her pocket to give Greer something. Greer thinks that Zee is going to give her some kind of good-luck gift, but instead Zee pulls out an envelope. Greer thinks it must hold a heartfelt letter, and she thanks Zee, but Zee informs her that the letter inside is for Faith. Zee is desperate not to be a paralegal and wants to ask Faith for a job. She asks Greer to deliver the letter directly to Faith for her—Greer is shocked and a little upset.

Zee rambles about how amazing it would be if they could both work for Faith and share in such an exciting and meaningful job. Meanwhile, Greer realizes that although she can envision herself giving the letter to Faith and recommending Zee for the job, Greer does not actually want to advocate for Zee. Greer leans the letter against her beer bottle, but it soon drops onto the surface of the bar.