Joanna Eberhart is the novel’s protagonist, and the novel is narrated in third person with moments of free-indirect discourse where Joanna’s direct thoughts are revealed. Joanna is a feminist and also has an interest in photography and civil rights. She takes politically charged photographs intended to make statements about social inequality, including one of a well-dressed Black man staring angrily at a cab driver who passes him by. Joanna’s photography is her way of expressing herself and asserting herself as an independent, intelligent woman. Joanna’s desire for independence and her own identity is in direct conflict with her role as a mother and wife, although she does not believe that these two roles need be mutually exclusive.

Unfortunately, Joanna’s efforts to be a modern woman in 1970s America seem fruitless, as she makes little money from her photographs, has no other job, and spends most of her time cleaning and raising her children. She suffers psychologically as she tries in vain to square her observations about the sinister nature of Stepford with the views of those around her, all of whom tell her she is wrong. The residents’ gaslighting—or systematic psychological manipulation—of Joanna never completely convinces her that she is wrong, but it makes her doubt herself enough to cause her emotional and psychological turmoil, which makes it impossible for her to confidently move forward with her plans.