This week myself and two partners co-taught a lecture on “No Woman Born” by C.L. Moore (1944) and “Bridesicle” by Will McIntosh (2009). Though these two short stories were written over sixty years apart, they share many of the same themes. While we were designing our co-teaching curriculum, I was particularly interested in discussing how both stories blur the boundaries between life and death. In both works, the central female character does not make the choice to be revived from death. “No Woman Born”‘s Deirdre is plucked from the ashes of a fire by Maltzer and her consciousness is imbued into a new, metallic body without consulting her. Though she comes to grow into her new power, allure, and (one might say) species, the fact remains that this is never a “life” that she chose for herself.
Likewise, in “Bridesicle”, Mira (or, at least, her face) is revived again and again without any autonomy. She is forced to listen to and attempt to appeal to whoever revived her as they have ultimate control over whether or not she can escape her frozen “death.” These revivers, all of them men, own her time, her ability to communicate, and her life. She is essentially a slave until one of them chooses to “free” her, only for her to be indebted to them and most likely marry them instantly. Though being cryogenically frozen was her “choice” as it was in her will, this system has no regard for her wishes or even her sexuality, which is constantly erased as she is forced to appeal to the men who revive her. I’m left to wonder how a world hundreds of years in the future still treats patriarchy and heterosexuality as the norm — surely there are some rich gay women who would also like a bridesicle? It seems the absolute least the center could do to try to respect the basic dignity of those entombed within it.
Throughout both “No Woman Born” and “Bridesicle,” we see narratives of resurrection without consent, denial of autonomy, domination, and power. Yet, in each, the central women find ways to take advantage of their situation to their own ends. It makes me wonder what these authors are trying to convey about those who are consistently subjugated.
Feminist Science Fictions 