The Gate To Women's Country by Sheri S Tepper

The Gate To Women's Country

by

Sheri S Tepper

Wow.  That was my reaction as I read and as I finished reading Sheri S. Tepper's novel, The Gate To Women's Country.  The story setting is 300 years past a nuclear disaster and is about a society that has developed where women have taken control of the decision making,  relegating men to positions where they will not have at their disposal the knowledge to once again develop advanced weaponry.  The women also are controlling conception in order to try and eradicate violence and aggression by selective breeding.   Besides being a enjoyable futuristic, science fiction book to read,  the novel is a great choice for reading with a discussion group because of all the underlying questions and issues it raises.  For the sake of brevity, in this blog I will touch on only three of the many topics that could be expostulated or applauded, or at any rate explored,  in response to this book. 

One area that could be discussed is the question of whether or not we need opposing factors in life.  Do we need aggression to have passivity?  Do we need hate to have love?  Do we need war to have peace?  Do we need passion to desire?  Is evil needed in order to have good?  Of course this would require defining all those qualifiers before proceeding.  

Another direction that one could go with discussing this book is nature verses nurture.  I tend to be one who has come to the conclusion that we are more nurture than nature.  Certainly our potential is determined by nature.  But I believe what we do with that potential is determined by nurture.  Our value system and our belief system if a product of our environment.  So is aggression a genetic trait or a trait that is a product of our environment?  

The last area of discussion that could spring from this book that I will touch on is that of eugenics.  Before WWII eugenics was on the table as a discussion of a viable way to proceed to solve some of our social problems.  But because Hitler took this idea of selective breeding to the extreme and the horror that resulted with the gas chambers,  as a society we have recoiled at the word eugenics ever since.  But don't we make choices that could be considered eugenics in our every day lives?  What about the couple that chooses to remain childless or chooses to adopt due to a genetic disease in their family?   What about the parents that encourage their children to marry someone who shares their religion or culture?   With the major advances that are being made in genetics in this century it is imperative that we re-open the eugenics discussion and decide as a society what we are okay with and what we deem as not okay.  We have seen the slippery slope that eugenics can lead to and we are wise to want to avoid that.  We do not have the right to eradicate a race or a culture.  But do we want to prevent the eradication of genetic diseases?  And what about positive traits and negative traits?  Which are genetic and which are nurtured and do we want to guide our society  away from certain innate behaviors?  If so who decides which traits are to be eliminated?  Determining  where the limits should be is a good topic to form an educated and well thought out opinion about.  

I highly recommend this book.  Not only as an enjoyable read but as a spring board for discussion.  Please click on the authors name and book title above to learn more information and enjoy the video that follows.