The Two of Them

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Wesleyan University Press, Mar 15, 2005 - Fiction - 150 pages

How female solidarity begins—in experience, thought, action, and force of conviction.

Irene, a rebellious product of an American 1950s upbringing, has fled from a repressive and sexist society into a life of apparent equality and adventure as part of the elite Trans-Temporal Authority's cadre of travelers. Under the tutelage of Ernst, a friend/lover and teacher/father, Irene has achieved status and dignity. Irene and Ernst are assigned to a Muslim world where they meet Zubedeyeh, a young girl whose creativity is being transformed into madness by the male chauvinistic society in which she lives. Vowing to rescue her, Irene unleashes a destructive cycle of violence. Originally published in 1978, The Two of Them is a powerful portrait of a future sexist society. This modern classic conveys its politics with rigor and complexity, in a story filled with suspense and unforgettable characters.

 

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Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
9
Section 3
17
Section 4
18
Section 5
24
Section 6
35
Section 7
63
Section 8
71
Section 10
99
Section 11
114
Section 12
117
Section 13
127
Section 14
135
Section 15
145
Section 16
Copyright

Section 9
86

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About the author (2005)

Joanna Russ was born in New York City on February 22, 1937. She received a degree in English from Cornell University in 1957 and a MFA in playwriting from the Yale Drama School in 1960. She taught at various colleges and universities during her lifetime including a long stint at the University of Washington in Seattle. She was a critic and science fiction writer best known for books of criticism such as The Female Man (1975) and How to Suppress Women's Writing (1984) as well as the novel And Chaos Died (1970). She died on April 29, 2011 at the age of 74.

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