Book Analysis Essay on "Woman on the Edge of Time"

Introduction

The "Woman on the Edge of Time," presents a very significant situation which mirrors the reality of life in the society. The book, written by a 37-year-old woman named Connie Ramos, demonstrates the patriarchal society where women are not given equal opportunities as men have. In her society, women have no voice over men; they have been assigned and expected to discharge very miniature family-based jobs such as bearing and taking care of children. Women depend on men entirely for their survival, having minimal access to the means of production because these have been reserved for men alone. Besides, heartbreaking gender discrimination is also very evident when Ramos is illegally incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital. There, she meets an androgynous young woman called Luciente, a time-traveler, in her visions. Luciente guides Ramos to a utopic village called Mattapoisett in a time-journey dated the year 2137. This article uses anthropological perspective to analyze Luciente's utopic society. The paper pays special attention to political, economic, social, gender, and ideological approaches she proposes for a sustainable society.

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Luciente's Political Approaches for a Sustainable Society

Luciente demonstrates various political ways to a sustainable society. By looking at the past political state of the Manhattan society, there are a lot of discrepancies that come evident. Booker (1994), in his article entitled "Woman on the edge of a genre: the feminist dystopias of Marge Piercy," noted that there is a lack of equality among men and women in the political arena. The family, serving as the fundamental political organization, is dominated by men. Women have, therefore, alienated from the power and authority of any kind (Booker, 1994). While addressing this matter, Luciente proposes a utopic village in the future where there shall be absolute equality. Luciente proposes the following political approaches for a sustainable society. First, Luciente visualizes equality for all people. According to Cortiel (2015), equality means that both men and women have the same access to opportunities the society has to offer. Luciente observes that equality enhances men and women to exploit opportunities, grow and develop equally without any repression. Second, Luciente does away with gender-based rankings in political organizations (Piercy, 1983). For example, the family which is the basic organization should portray no low rank for women. In other words, women and men should both have equality even in the family without any predetermined lesser considerations for women. (Rudanovskaya, 2016). Luciente proposes that equality and acceptance will make a sustainable society in the future, driving away from the inconvenient forces in the patriarchal society and replacing them with the fresh and enjoyable utopic state (Piercy, 1983).

Luciente's Economic Approaches for a Sustainable Society

Luciente's approaches for an economically sustainable society include the following. First, the inclusion of women in economic affairs. Women have a significant impact on enhancing economic growth and development of society. Since the patriarchal society upholds men higher in consideration than women, the rate at which the society grows economically is incomplete. When the capitalist society favoring women is done away with, and women are significantly included in economic activities, the dependence on men by women will dramatically decrease (Cortiel, 2015). Besides, women shall also contribute to economic production, making society self-sustaining and comfortable for everyone. Second, Luciente's portrayal of women having absolute freedom to make choices gives them an upper hand in deciding what they should do or not do. Freedom itself is an essential ingredient for enhancing society's economic sustainability (Piercy, 1983). This is because women are not restricted to participate in economic activities in the society. They have full opportunities as do men (Rudanovskaya, 2016). Therefore, the society's economic welfare is more likely to flourish and thrive. As women have access to means of production, just as men, the economic welfare of the society becomes rejuvenated and the society regains its momentum in economic growth and development.

Luciente's Social Approaches for a Sustainable Society

Luciente presents various social approaches that enhance the sustainability of society. First, she proposes unity among members of society (Piercy, 1983). Luciente's united village provides a vast capacity and capability of the people to drive various aspects of development together, enhancing massive societal sustainability. Second, mutual respect is another social approach Luciente proposes for a sustainable society (Booker, 1994). A society where people respect and hold high regard for each other flourishes and make significant strides to unstoppable development. Third, peaceful interaction among people is another social approach for a sustainable society (Rudanovskaya, 2016). Luciente's Mattapoisett village portrays a model of a peaceful society. Everyone works, and interact with each other peacefully, making their work more productive (Rudanovskaya, 2016). Fourth, mutual respect among people is another cutting-edge social approach for a sustainable society (Cortiel, 2015). Luciente's Mattapoisett village is composed of people with mutual respect. Hence, they can work together and live in harmony with each other (Piercy, 1983).

Luciente's Gender Approaches for a Sustainable Society

Luciente presents the following gender approaches for a sustainable society. First, she proposes a gender-less society where everyone has the same roles, whether men or women (Rudanovskaya, 2016). Men and women carry out similar activities at the family level or community level. Men and women have the same responsibility to take care of children. Men have been given the capacity to suckle children just as women; therefore, they can take the responsibility to raise children alongside women. Maciunas (1992), writing about the "Feminist Epistemology in Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. Women's Studies," observed that this eliminates activities that lower the dignity of women. As a result, there are no ranks in power between men and women. Everyone has the same freedom and can, therefore, be free to do what they have to do for the benefit of society. Second, Luciente presents a society without any gender-based discrimination whatsoever. Gender-based discrimination is known to greatly manifest in bringing disrespect, especially for women in society (Maciunas, 1992). With a discrimination society, Luciente proposes a perfect society which can grow and develop freely without any hindrances (Piercy, 1983). Therefore, Luciente's gender approaches for a sustainable society include enhancing gender-less society to break down bottlenecks associated with gender sensitivity. In addition to that, erasure of gender-based discrimination is also another cutting-edge approach to Luciente's sustainable society (Cortiel, 2015).

Luciente's Ideological Approaches for a Sustainable Society

Luciente's ideological approaches for a sustainable society include the following. First, freedom of expression (Cortiel, 2015). Luciente's Mattapoisett community is an example of a society where everyone has the freedom to express ideas, opinions, and feelings freely without any obstruction. The freedom of opinions enriches society with knowledge and information that helps it make strides ahead and enhance sustainability. A society where personal ideas, opinions, or feelings are respected is more likely to flourish and thrive (Maciunas, 1992). Second, Luciente also proposes culturing ideas of the people in the society (Booker, 1994). As people's perceptions are respected, they are more likely to come up with advanced mechanisms through which the society derives its sustainability. The course which would make major advancements in the way the society runs and maintains itself. Therefore, this is a significant ideological approach for a sustainable society (Maciunas, 1992).

References

Booker, M. K. (1994). Woman on the edge of a genre: the feminist dystopias of Marge Piercy. Science Fiction Studies, 337-350.

Cortiel, J. (2015). Feminist Utopia/Dystopia: Joanna Russ, The Female Man (1975) and Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time (1976). Dystopia, Science Fiction, PostApocalypse: Classics-New Tendencies-Model Interpretations, 155-169.

Maciunas, B. (1992). Feminist Epistemology in Piercy's Woman on the Edge of Time. Women's Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 20(3-4), 249-258.

Piercy, M. (1983). Woman on the edge of time. New York: Fawcett Crest.

Rudanovskaya, S. (2016, May). Possibilities of the Subject in Feminist Utopian Fiction" Woman on the Edge of Time." In 2nd International Conference on Arts, Design and Contemporary Education. Atlantis Press.