Foreword
Norma's Panties is a portrait of the modern American woman as it has rarely been painted before, a portrait that skillfully highlights the intricate psychological features of a contemporary twenty-six year old career girl involved in a desperate struggle for a rewarding position in a man's world.
Norma Peterson, the subject of this work, is an attractive young woman with excellent business credentials, but a well-hidden secret, which if revealed can ruin her career. Her secret is that, because of deep-rooted psychological drives, she is compelled to expose her panties to young boys in order to find sexual gratification.
In spite of her intense sexuality, Norma Peterson appears cold and formal in the office. She channels her energy toward one goal — that of the vice-presidency — and competes fiercely with a male executive, Nick Saxby, to attain it. Her brusque manner rapidly succeeds in alienating, not only her rival, but many of the company's other employees as well.
Norma Peterson is thus a paradox. On the one hand she is possessed by a salacious desire to expose her panties to young boys, and on the other hand manifests a rigid intractable personality in the office.
Having posed this paradox, author Van Heller goes one step farther to point out what is behind it. In a poignant flash-back he portrays Norma Peterson as a thirteen year old tomboy at the helm of a boy's neighborhood touch football team. As quarterback and the only girl player, Norma engineers the one touchdown of the game, but in doing so, incurs the wrath of her young male opponents. In just a few swift moments, young Norma's childhood world is destroyed. The young boys have crudely pointed out to her that she is a woman and not just one of the gang.
The incident, of course, leaves a deep psychological scar, and from this point on, Norma seeks revenge on the one hand by exposing her panties to youngsters, teasing and tantalizing them but never allowing them to gain control over her. On the other hand, her injured pride manifests itself by her need to succeed in the male domain of the business world, and to do this she must appear to be tough-minded and ruthless.
Thus, the seemingly incompatible aspects of her personality derive from one single source — the need to avenge herself against the male sex.
But as in any great work of art since the time of Aeschylus, vengeance breeds vengeance, and once her secret is inadvertently discovered, the office workers led by Nick Saxby knock the high-handed Norma Peterson off her pedestal by means of a cunning scheme.
Mr. Van Heller has provided us with not only a fast-moving piece of entertainment, but a lucid analysis of complex psychological problems relevant to today's high-pressure society and, indeed, valid since the very beginnings of civilization.
-The Publishers Sausalito, California February, 1973