The Two of Them | Topics for Discussion & Projects

The Two of Them Key Questions

Prior to the 1970s, female characters in science fiction were often secondary characters who were added for romantic or sexual interest. They had no depth. They were stock characters in a pulp genre written mainly by men. The 1970s saw many new writers exploring "new worlds" of science fiction. Science fiction truly became the "fiction of the possible." Nothing was sacred, novels explored issues of masculinity and femininity, gender roles, sexuality, and the roles of women and female empowerment. Feminist writers like Russ began to create new myths of female heroes.

1. Ernst has many different names for Irene. Sometimes he calls her Maria Sklodowska, sometimes Mikolaj Kopernik, and sometimes Augusta, Lady Lovelace. What do these different names signify? Why do you think that Russ has Ernst call Irene by these different names?

2. When she describes Ernst and Irene, Russ states that "they shared a...
(read more)