Book review: He She It, by Marge Piercy
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document in English
literature
book review
published 11/02/2008
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SummaryIn her novel, He She It, Marge Piercy questions ideas of gender and gender roles in a futuristic society. Piercy sets the stage of her story in a temporarily safe haven called Tikva, a Jewish slum where matriarchy holds a subtle but evident power. The story's central character is Shira Shipman, a highly educated recent divorcee, who has lost custody of her son to her ex-husband. While the deterioration of the marriage may mirror modern circumstances, the decision to give custody to the father is definitely a creation in Piercy's arcane world. Already, the reader is greeted with a gender role reversal. Typically, almost every society views the mother as the more crucial parental unit. Most American divorces result in children going with the mother, with fathers on weekends. Additionally, American society is replete with dead-beat dads or fathers who walk out on their families. In Norika, Josh is awarded custody of Ari simply because he has higher credit earnings, which would roughly translate into having more income in today's society. Motherly guidance and love is not an issue that the Multis comprehend, and neither does Josh, who grew up an orphan for most of his life. In fact, Norika inhabitants do not grasp the idea of "love" they way we do today. Shira seems to be the only character to possess romantic notions, evident in her previous relationships, and most importantly with Yod. To Shira, Yod is the man she never had, the child that was taken from her, and the epitome of safety and comfort; too bad he was a cyborg. Their relationship also tests typical gender roles and teaches about the importance of human perception.
Table of Contents
- The innate familial duties of parenthood are still evident in Piercy's vision of the future.
- Shira's relationship with her mother, Riva, was vastly different.
- What is ironic is that Yod's opinion of Avram is the same as Gadi's attitude toward his father as well.
- The most obvious example of his stereotypical femininity is his attitude toward and participation in sex.
- The longer Shira educates Yod, the more he becomes human like.
- Shira openly defines the rigid sex roles in her society.
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