High Heel

Object Lessons brings the high heel into focus and brings Summer Brennan’s inspection and musings into one small adorable book. Divided into five sections, Brennan starts with Sylvia Plath’s views, jumps to Daphne from mythology, followed by fairy tales, and then the minotaur. Finally, Brennan looks at the current view of the high heel and how it is portrayed in current culture. Within those chapter divisions, Brennan infuses the chapter’s topic with short, numbered sections, both about the topic at hand, as expected, and with her interpretations.

High Heel is poetry in prose, and while a serious work about the shoe in worldwide history and contemporary culture, it sounds more rhythmic, like poetry in motion. Due to the complex nature and strong feelings associated with the high heel shoe, Brennan delves into more than just the shoe itself. Readers looking for a light foray into such an iconic piece of footwear will be disappointed, but those who would like a cerebral, intellectual inspection of such a weighted piece of women’s fashion will be pleased and informed after finishing. This is suggested especially for those who consider the high heel a contradictory stigma and means of self-expression for women.