The Gate to Women’s Country

Okay, I first read this probably around when it first came out. I was going through my own women’s lib learning curve and thought this would be very interesting since I’d loved most of SST’s other fantasy works. I however finished that reading with very mixed feelings. I reread it again when I was well into my own adulthood and had a more solid grasp on where my own liberation and “feminism” (I don’t like that word and never felt it was defined properly) and still found myself disagreeing with the premise. Now that I’m a senior female, decided I needed to read it again and found it, again, kind of wrong. This time I questioned why things were done the way they were in the book–why relegate all male children to a military existence to begin with? Doesn’t make much sense to me. Just sort out the male children with violent tendencies. But I guess nowadays we call that jail and prison. This is the one Sheri Tepper book and idea, that I have the most trouble with, although in many of her other books she does come down hard on ALL males. Maybe I’ve been very very lucky to have known a lot of liberated males during my lifetime, and learned how to get-around the more controlling ones. I think it is important for all society to be integrated in all ways and that both genders (or all genders) contribute to the wealth of knowledge. I also believe that if mothers raised their sons to be more responsible humans, not just responsible males but just responsible souls, we probably wouldn’t have so many males who feel they should be privileged and who feel they are above everyone else. I do blame the mothers for a lot of the problems, I saw it in my own family and in the family. I don’t think segregating the males from the females solves anything–no more than segregating black and white, or old and young, or rich from not rich, etc. That just creates more division and neither end understands the other, or even thinks of the other as human. I also never found the “servors” (not a good name for that status because it makes it sound too much like those people are just and never will be anything more than servants) to be appealing at all, to me they feel more like eunices with no sex appeal–so unless all those women are being artificially inseminated (and what’s the fun in that?), then I don’t know how procreation goes on in Women’s Country. I also know men, the vast majority of men, need a certain amount of challenge and competition(? not quite right but I can’t think of the word I want) for testosterone to continue to be high enough to feel like males–men need a certain kind of male dominance, not control or abuse or real dominance, but they need to feel they are manly men in order to procreate successfully. Emasculated males don’t work well.

Well, I thought I had already made my comments about this book but maybe not. I first read this book when it first came out. I had read some of the writer’s books before and enjoyed them in varying degrees. I liked this book, and recommended it to my then teenage daughter. She liked it and passed the recommendation on to her friends. Although that was years ago memory of the book has stayed evergreen and I downloaded it on my kindle and re-read it. Memory, being fraught with lapses, didn’t serve me all thate and most of the story was new to me. I enjoyed it almost as a first-time read. I had forgotten the use of the great tragedy “The Trojan Women” in the story, but I found it singularly appropriate for the book’s story and theme. The book is regarded as a “feminist” tome, but it really is a human story and does address the sins and results of male-dominated society. The women in the story have taken actions to alliviate the effects of such a society and are successful in their efforts. This isn’t a beautiful or elegant book–though there are isolated moments–but the writing is serviceable and readable; what makes it such a good work is its thought-provoking nature. I treasure this book and have no hesitation recommending it to anyone.

I have gone through multiple paperback copies of Sheri Tepper’s “The Gate to Women’s Country”. I bought the Kindle version hoping it will stay with me through multiple re-readings, at least as long as Kindle technology can handle it. Other reviews will give you the plot line, including some spoilers. I will only say that many complain about the misandrous and there is some truth in that. Only a few select males are fine examples of manhood; the great majority are not. But Tepper is an equal-opportunity writer. Only a few select women have the smarts and insight to govern the complex entity that is Women’s Country.
I like Sheri Tepper’s novels. I’ve read most of them, including the award winners, which I have liked the least. I like her politics. I like her views on male-female relationships. I like her respect for all forms of life, not necessarily just humankind. I like the complexity of her plots. I like her dramatic flair. You should definitely read at least one of her books. “The Gate to Women’s Country” is a good start.

A novel set in a post holocaust future. Possibly her best work certainly the most thought provoking work she has written that I have read. Would really like a sequel but it would have to be really outstanding to come close in quality of vision, an adventure romp set in the world however would be easy.

I first read this book as a young teenager and always loved it, as ive grown its come to mean more, the book is set between the main characters past and present set in the future where mankind has unleashed the devastation of nuclear power, although set in the future it reminds me of a greek period or roman period in time where nearly all of the technology of their past has been wiped out. Great book

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