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huangtimAlthough I’ve only read up to Chapter 5 of Woman on the Edge of Time, several aspects of this novel have already caught my attention, and make this novel particularly interesting. The first thing that caught my attention was Piercy’s vision of the future: an organic, self-sustaining utopia that is populated by a simple people. Besides their “kenners”, the people of 2137 use very little technology, and seem to be very open, free-spirited people. Piercy’s future is reminiscent of the future described by H.G. Wells’ in The Time Machine; in his novella, humans have evolved into two different species in the future. One of them, the Eloi, live simply and happily, dining on fruits and vegetables. The Eloi do not use any technology, and are androgynous, like Luciente. By showing a future that is much different from our present, Wells’ depiction suggests to his reader that the economic and social systems that are being used currently do not work, and as a result, a massive change happens. Perhaps Piercy is trying to send the same message to her readers, by illustrating a future that is so similar to Wells’. This may explain why she chooses to make Connie’s background so miserable – she is trying to tell us that our society right now is flawed.
A second aspect of this novel I’ve found to be interesting is Dolly’s relationship with Geraldo. It is a stereotypical pimp-prostitute relationship- Dolly considers Geraldo to be her boyfriend, he is extremely abusive and does not support her, she believes everything he says, including his plan to marry her if she gets an abortion, etc. Reading about Dolly is difficult; seeing the position that she is in, and knowing that she is not willing to do anything for herself is especially poignant. So far, Woman on the Edge of Time has been engaging and intriguing. I look forward to finishing the book and seeing what happens, however, I will be disappointed in the creativity of Piercy if the novel ends with a typical “Inception”-esque psychological twist, where the reader is left wondering if the events of the novel actually occurred, or if they were hallucinations in the mind of the protagonist the whole time.
A second aspect of this novel I’ve found to be interesting is Dolly’s relationship with Geraldo. It is a stereotypical pimp-prostitute relationship- Dolly considers Geraldo to be her boyfriend, he is extremely abusive and does not support her, she believes everything he says, including his plan to marry her if she gets an abortion, etc. Reading about Dolly is difficult; seeing the position that she is in, and knowing that she is not willing to do anything for herself is especially poignant. So far, Woman on the Edge of Time has been engaging and intriguing. I look forward to finishing the book and seeing what happens, however, I will be disappointed in the creativity of Piercy if the novel ends with a typical “Inception”-esque psychological twist, where the reader is left wondering if the events of the novel actually occurred, or if they were hallucinations in the mind of the protagonist the whole time.
