The Female Man Summary

The Female Man Summary

In an unexpected event, which is compared to a lightning in the blue skies, Janet Evason appears in a world that she can’t recognize. The place she comes from is a futuristic realm of women, as all men were killed more than 800 years ago. Unlike her native place, this world is not deprived of men. However, it seems to be unable to overcome the Great Depression. Janet meets a local – Jeannine, a librarian whose main goal in life is to find a good husband – and together they travel to Joanna’s world, where women only start their fight for equality.

Wanting to show Janet and Jeannine more, their guide – Joanna – takes them to a party where the lovely librarian becomes the center of men’s attention and an object of harassment. Coming from the world where an opinion that women are weaker than men is nonexistent, Joana puts an end to pestering by punching an offender. Such a bold act shocks both Jeannie and Joanna, for they couldn’t even imagine that a woman could behave that brutally. Accepting Joanna’s invitation, Janet visits the Wildings where she meets a girl named Laura Rose who develops a crush on the woman

The next place the trio visits is Janet’s world. Later on, Jeannine returns home. However, this time she is accompanied by Joanna. Though Jeannie questions her decision to find a good husband, she makes up her mind to try to settle down. So, she calls her old boyfriend Cal to say yes to his proposal.

The next parallel visited is Jael’s world, the one where men and women have been fighting against each other for 40 years. Jael reveals the mystery behind this rather bizarre affair, admitting that she is the one who is responsible for bringing them there and – what is more – they are three different version of one and the same woman. Jael’s main goal is to plant a seed of women’s independence in all the worlds, empower women, so that they could destroy gender roles.

Surprisingly, Jeannine and Joanna have a wish to help Jael whilst Janet does not want to receive this help, claiming that her world is peaceful. In the end, they all return home.

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