Woman on the Edge of Time

What is the relationship between race/ethnicity and culture in Mattapoisett? How does this coincide with the novel’s depiction of Connie’s Chicana heritage? Does the novel suggest that Mattapoisett is right to decouple culture from ethnicity?

Consider the novel’s use of religious imagery, particularly in conjunction with women’s oppression. How does that usage develop the work’s overall meaning?

Some critics have argued that dystopian novels are more common than utopian ones because reading about perfection can be boring. How does Piercy maintain tension in the sections about Mattapoisett?

One of the aspects of Mattapoisett that Connie finds most disturbing is its approach to birth and parenting, which insists that women’s freedom necessitates dissolving the nuclear family and the mother-child bond. Why does Connie object to this? How does Luciente justify these changes? How does this aspect of Mattapoisett intersect with the novel’s depiction of reproductive rights (or the lack thereof) in 1970s America?

Sexual trafficking of various kinds features prominently in the novel. How does it contribute to the novel’s critique of patriarchy or of capitalism?

Woman on the Edge of Time makes the argument that conceptions of mental illness are often socially constructed. Think about the characters Connie meets during her stay in the hospital (Sybil, Skip, etc.). How do their families or 1970s US society perceive them? How do they perceive themselves?

Connie murders several people at the end of the novel. Why does she believe this violence is justified? Does the novel suggest that she is right?

Compare and contrast one secondary character from Connie’s society to one from Luciente’s. How does Piercy’s depiction of each develop her aim of Envisioning a Post-Gender Society?