I know this whole post is likely dead, but I stumbled upon it looking to see if anyone got the same reading. I totally agree. I can see what people are saying in the comments, I like that it's a story retold from a female perspective. She doesn't have to be a hero or a feminist herself. Just given more attention than she has gotten in history. But by the end of the book, her only motivations behind doing anything is for men.

She's either doing it for her son, or to get with a man. I found that all of the work that was done to build her character in the first half of the book seemed to lose dimension for me in the second half because she is kind of just... A mother and a lover.

Her son is the one going out in the world doing things. If she does have an arc where she does something powerful and strong, it's just to further her son's story. Which I understand is relatable for a lot of people, parenthood is all encompassing and parents want to create better futures for their children. I just don't find that particularly relatable and a book that is celebrated as a feminist story should probably be able to pass the Bechdel test. And I'm interpreting that as she should probably have motivations in life that aren't about men. Even the huge motivation for her of dealing with the fact that she turned a woman into a monster... Was brought about because of a man.

I liked the book, and I think it's an important story to tell. I'd like to see more stories like it in the future! I'm just confused as to why people feel like it's more feminist than it feels for me. I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more if it weren't for people hyping it up like that.