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3.0étoiles sur 5
The Gate to Women's Country, Juil 7 2004
(...)Tepper's The Gate to Women's Country has been a lightening rod of criticism for its frank, some would say, unfair treatment of males. Having read and heard many negative comments about the feminist agenda pursued by this novel, I fully expected a diatribe against males and a utopian society ran by women to the be the centerpiece of the story. Little did I expect the unfavorable assessment of both sexes found here. Males are depicted as being violent but easily manipulated by symbolism and perceived threats to of their "manhood". Women are depicted as weak-willed and inclined toward poor judgement. The Gate to Women's Country is not "hard science" fiction, nor is there much action or plot to engage the reader's interest. Nevertheless, it is a compelling work that explores, sometimes stereotypically, male and female behavior. The Gate to Women's Country is set in a post-holocaust Earth, segments of which have been settled and ruled by women. Inside walled enclaves women have established a system whereby males are forced to live outside the society of women in armed encampments unless, at specified ages, they expressly desire to live in "Women's Country" and abide by the rules established therein. The rigid military caste set up by males on the outside, however, puts an unrelenting amount of pressure on males to reject Women's Country and remain warriors. A cabal of women, through a variety of measures, including espionage and violence, effectively subjugate the male population or warrior caste. The socio-political nature of Women's Country vis a vis its male subjects is intricately woven into the plot. The story centers around Stavia who grows up accepting the social institutions around her but questioning their utility. She falls in love with a young warrior, Chernon, who is depicted as the typical male. Tepper uses their relationship, especially once free from Women's Country, as an especially poignant commentary on the relationship between males and females generally. Tepper paints a dismal future for both relationships. Tepper is equally scornful to women as to men here. Women's Country is an undemocratic society ruled by a self-selected group of councilwomen. These councilwomen are secretive and deceitful toward the remaining population of Women's Country. They feel this necessary because women take foolish actions based on "infatuation" (with particular males of course) and cannot be trusted with the secrets of Women's Country. The council looks, with some disdain, upon the rest of the women, who are easily manipulated using the same symbolic rhetoric and gestures used to control and manipulate the male population. Indeed, the women seem very compliant and unquestioning of the prerogative of the council to rule. The compliant nature of the women and the cyclical revolts of the men are implicit comments on the basic nature of the sexes. The society set up by Tepper is really a "negative utopia" along the lines of George Orwell's 1984 or Adolus Huxley's A Brave New World. Stavia's eventual acquiescence in the methods used by the council in Women's Country to maintain its dominance over males and its own female subjects is defeatist. Through Stavia's eyes the reader realizes the emotionally barren and socially dysfunctional result of the rift between males and females. Through this example, one can see parallels to our own society.
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