Fairy Tale Spotlight: A Woman's Place [Short Story Review]

[I spoil the main points of this story.]

"A Woman's Place" is a short science fiction story written by Mark Clifton. It was published in 1955. The title here probably will raise a few eyebrows in modern times. Both sides of the argument are probably wondering if this story gets it right. I certainly felt that going into this one, but let me just tell you what the darn thing is about.

The story begins on an outer space lifeboat heading to Earth. Their ship met with a dangerous space warp that led to the destruction of the vessel and the loss of all lives except for two men and one woman. When they reenter Earth's atmosphere, they quickly realize that something is wrong. There does not seem to be any civilization down there. In fact, they are the only humans there at all.

As it turns out, that space warp sent them into a parallel reality where humans never happened on Earth. Now they are stuck there and expected to survive. The two men are trying to still figure out if there is a way to get back to their Earth. They do, after all, have their own wives to return to. The woman however is trying to be a realist about it. She thinks that the situation is hopeless, and it is time for them to decide amongst themselves who should be her suitor. After all, they will need to begin populating that planet.

It's a horrible thing to ask of these two guys, but I have to admit, I was on her side. It really did not seem like they were in a situation where they would actually be able to return to their Earth. Being faithful in that situation is just not realistic. They had to survive. But I had two main problems with her actions here:

1. She did seem like she jumped the gun a bit much. Although she did wait a while, it could have been a while more.

2. She was sort of being a bit too dramatic about it... with herself. She was over dramatizing the situation too much, and at it was not making things any better. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say she was being a little bit narcissistic too.

The crazy truth was that the two men actually did know what they were doing. They did make contact with Earth. And they were ultimately rescued, leaving the woman feeling somewhat ridiculous for how she acted.

Although this is the climax of the story, the resolution was a bit weird. The whole thing really messed with her mind. She was actually considering going back with some other guy and starting a new life there. Talk about obsessive.

This is actually not a bad story. I did enjoy reading it, and I do recommend it. They have an interesting take on how a woman deals with her place in the world. It may not line up with what people think in the modern day, but don't toss this one out too quickly. It is a fascinating read.

This blog was written on October 28, 2024.

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