Erica Jong

Erica Jong – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Explore the life of American novelist and poet Erica Jong — author of Fear of Flying and feminist icon. Read about her biography, literary impact, and powerful quotes that challenge conventions.

Introduction

Erica Jong (born March 26, 1942) is an American novelist, poet, and cultural provocateur whose bold writing about female sexuality, identity, and freedom made her both celebrated and controversial. Her breakthrough novel Fear of Flying (1973) resonated with a generation of women and became a landmark of second-wave feminist literature. Over decades, Jong has continued writing memoirs, essays, poetry, and fiction—always pushing boundaries and asking what it means to live fully and freely. Her life and work offer a vivid portrait of a woman confronting the contradictions of art, desire, fame, and selfhood.

Early Life and Family

Erica Mann was born on March 26, 1942 in New York City.

Her upbringing in a culturally rich but artistically ambitious household nurtured her early interest in writing and creativity.

Youth and Education

Jong earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1963, where she was active in literary work, editing the Barnard Literary Magazine and participating in poetry programs. Columbia University, completing her M.A. in eighteenth-century English literature in 1965.

Her thesis delved into representation of women in the poetry of Alexander Pope — an early signal of her enduring interest in gender, voice, and the literary canon.

Career and Major Works

Literary Breakthrough: Fear of Flying

Erica Jong became a household name with her debut novel Fear of Flying in 1973.

By some counts, Fear of Flying has sold over 37 million copies globally and has been translated into more than 45 languages.

This novel also spawned sequels exploring the life of its protagonist Isadora Wing: How to Save Your Own Life (1977) and Parachutes & Kisses (1984).

Further Fiction, Poetry & Memoir

Jong has written prolifically across genres. Some of her notable fiction includes:

• Fanny, Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones (1980)

• Shylock’s Daughter (originally Serenissima, 1987)

• Any Woman’s Blues (1990)

• Inventing Memory (1997)

• Sappho’s Leap (2003)

• Fear of Dying (2015)

On the poetry side, Jong began publishing earlier, with collections such as Fruits & Vegetables (1971) and Half-Lives (1973).

In memoir and essays, she explores her life, writing, and reflections on gender, art, and identity. Notable works include Fear of Fifty: A Midlife Memoir (1994), What Do Women Want? Bread, Roses, Sex, Power (1998), and Seducing the Demon: Writing for My Life (2006).

Themes and Influence

A throughline in Jong’s oeuvre is her frank treatment of female sexuality, desire, and the internal conflicts of women navigating marriage, creativity, freedom, and societal expectations.

She challenged taboos, questioned double standards, and demanded that women reclaim voice and agency. Her work is sometimes labeled “erotic fiction,” but it is also deeply psychological, symbolic, and cultural—exploring how desire intersects with identity, self-worth, power, and mortality.

Over time, she has stirred both admiration and critique: admired for her audacity and candidness, and critiqued by some feminists who argue that her embrace of sexuality still operates within patriarchal norms.

Personal Life & Later Years

Erica Jong’s personal life has been complex and intertwined with her art. She has been married four times:

1. Michael Werthman (1963) — while at Barnard; this marriage ended.

2. Allan Jong — a Chinese-American psychiatrist; she took his surname and lived in Germany on a U.S. Army base from 1966 to 1969 during this marriage.

3. Jonathan Fast (married 1977) — with whom she had a daughter, Molly Jong-Fast, who later became a writer.

4. Kenneth David Burrows — her most recent marriage; he passed away December 14, 2023.

In later years, her daughter Molly published a memoir (How to Lose Your Mother) illuminating the complexities of their mother–daughter relationship, especially as Erica Jong faced dementia in her eighties.

Legacy and Influence

Erica Jong’s legacy is multifaceted:

• Cultural Impact: Fear of Flying changed how literature spoke of female sexual desire and inner life. It empowered readers to reconsider silence, shame, and the constraints placed on women.

• Feminist Debate: Her work continues to spark debate about the intersections of eroticism, feminism, and empowerment—how women claim agency over their bodies and stories.

• Inspiration for Writers: Many novelists, especially women, cite Jong’s courage, voice, and honesty as formative influences in their own creative journeys.

• Voice of Rebellion & Selfhood: Her willingness to confront shame, fear, and contradiction gives her work enduring resonance in a world still grappling with gender, desire, identity, and power.

Her life, too, becomes part of her art—her personal struggles, her public persona, and even her decline illuminate the tensions of fame, creativity, selfhood, and mortality.

Famous Quotes of Erica Jong

Here are selected quotes that capture her spirit, insight, and provocativeness:

• “Everyone has talent. What is rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.”

• “I have accepted fear as part of life — specifically the fear of change … I have gone ahead despite the pounding in the heart that says: turn back.”

• “Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be … And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.”

• “In a bad marriage, friends are the invisible glue. If we have enough friends, we may go on for years, intending to leave, talking about leaving — instead of actually getting up and leaving.”

• “Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.”

• “The job of the writer is to seduce the demons of creativity and make up stories.”

• “Always do the things you fear the most. Courage is an acquired taste, like caviar.”

• “Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame.”

These quotes reflect her core concerns: the relationship to fear, the necessity of risk, creativity as calling, and the tension between autonomy and connection.

Lessons from Erica Jong

1. Courage in Voice: Speaking what is taboo or hidden often requires vast courage—but doing so can liberate others.

2. Embrace Fear, Don’t Deny It: Fear is a companion on creative or transformative paths; the choice lies in moving forward in spite of it.

3. Desire as Power: Desire (sexual, emotional, creative) is not shameful—if claimed with awareness, it can be a source of strength and insight.

4. Contradiction Is Human: People are rarely pure archetypes. Embracing internal conflict can yield richer, more honest art and life.

5. Art Reflects Life: The boundary between personal experience and fiction is porous; one’s struggles can become stories, and stories can reshape how we see ourselves.

6. Aging and Decline Are Part of the Narrative: Even at the end, the arc of decline, memory loss, and legacy asks us how meaning is sustained when voice falters.

Conclusion

Erica Jong stands as a bold witness to the inner lives of women, a chronicler of conflict, longing, and defiance. From Fear of Flying’s scandalous frankness to her contemplative poetry and memoirs, she challenged silence, demanded permission for women’s voices, and invited readers to claim their own truth.

Even as she faces the inevitable fading of memory and fame, her words—etched in the hearts of readers — continue to echo. If you wish, I can prepare a reading list of her most influential works or a deeper dive into how Fear of Flying changed feminist literature. Would you like that?