Post 5

Post 5-Marge Piercy, Woman on the Edge of Time
                 Marge Piercy is a writer who has written 17 volumes of poetry, 17 novels, several plays and nonfiction, and many other.  She is born from the great depression era in Detroit and was the first in her family to go to college.  I picked Piercy mainly because I was reading her book Woman on the Edge of Time for a class and her writing make me think about structures of society whether it be class, gender, or race.  Her approach to writing is very personal and very vivid. The story is told in a third person which allow the readers to speculate who the characters are.
                 The novel, Woman on the Edge of Time, started with a very violent scene with Dolly a prostitute calling her aunt, Connie, the main character for help.  It ended with Connie in the Hospital and later to an asylum.  The novel showed the horror of a patriarchal society where the man would exert their physical dominance over others, but Connie broke the pimp's nose before she ended up in the hospital.  Later, the novel showed a Utopian society of the future where gender seems equal, sex is explored and no racism.   This is very different from the society we live in which make one think about different social structures.  
                 I believe this story is important because it not only show social differences of the future and the past but also the dangers of the mental hospital.  I find it important because the novel help us realize that society can be changed by our actions and that we make history everyday.  It is a matter of whether we take responsibility for our society.  Connie sacrificed her self for the future although it was not clear whether Connie was imagining everything.
                 The novel is received as a feminist classic and a Utopian science fiction classic.  The novel is also taught in my classroom which shows how important this book is.  I am not sure I want to put this book along with works of Shakespeare under taught in classroom although they are both difficult to read at times.  Marge Piercy is received as a feminist and a Marxist.  She also received the Arthur C. Clarke Award which is great honor.  Ultimately Piercy is a great writer who thought about social concerns.