Combining the energy of the early seventies feminist liberation movement, with the perceptive analyses of the trained theorist, Women's Estate is one of the most influential socialist feminist statements of its time.

Scrutinizing the political background of the movement, its sources and its common ground with other radical movements of the sixties, Women's Estate describes the organization of women's liberation in Western Europe and America, locating the areas of women's oppression in four key areas: work, reproduction, sexuality and the socialization of children. Through a detailed study of the modern family and a reevaluation of Freud's work in this field, Mitchell paints a detailed picture of how patriarchy works as a social order.

"The quality of Mitchell's thinking is revealed by her ability both to be critical of certain aspects of the women's movement, and yet keep herself free of the bitterness and disillusion of radicals of an older generation." - New York Review of Books