Nissa Fuller

Dr. Andrea Harris

Composition II
3.27.2020

Leni Zumas’s Red Clocks tells the story of five different yet similar women: Ro, The

Biographer; Susan, The Wife; Gin, The Mender; Mattie, The Daughter; and Eivør, The Polar

Explorer. The novel is set in a dystopian American society where the reproductive rights of

women are under attack as the Personhood Amendment says that both abortion and vitro

fertilization are illegal acts in the eyes of the government. Zumas explores what it means to be a

woman in 19th and 21st societies where her every move is monitored and possibly judged for

things out of her control. Moreover, each chapter is named after the characters’ designated roles

which speaks volumes about their perceived purposes in society which brings the struggles of the

women together. That is to say, the women in this novel are trying to exist in a space that pushes

them into one box or another limiting what it means to be a woman in this world. Society decides

what the ideal woman looks like which pressures women to meet certain expectations and judges

others who do not. When certain people are held up on a pedestal, it creates feelings of envy and

inadequacy. This is especially true in the case of women who are constantly bombarded by

characteristics and skills that society thinks women should have or aspire to have. All of the

women in Red Clocks share the similar experience of searching for their sense of self despite

society’s oppressing lens that limits their capacity in life and encourages feelings of envy

between them.

Due to pressure from society to fit into a certain box, the women find themselves envious

of what the others have while struggling to attain it themselves. This is a common concept in the

world to try and “keep up with the Joneses” by buying the next bigger, better, or more expensive

thing which leaves others feeling as though they are falling behind. Ro and Susan fall into this
type of thinking because they are constantly comparing themselves to each other and other

women. This is yet another trap laid down by society that enforces the ideal life, person, and

family. Susan, for example, compares her family to that of the Perfects’ whose name leaves

nothing to the imagination about their family dynamic (Zumas 55). Susan’s inner monologue is

sarcastic as she notes: “Those days at the Perfects’ are probably a little different from those days

on the hill” (Zumas 56). Another thing to point out is that Susan’s chapters are called The Wife

which alludes to the main problem in Susan’s life: her struggle with motherhood and being a

wife. As a result when she starts to compare herself and her family to the Perfects’, she is

actually telling herself that she is below them because of things like food quality and hobbies

(Zumas 56). In the same way, Susan is envious of Ro having a career—something she left behind

after becoming pregnant (Zumas 168). Susan acknowledges this envy by thinking, “As if the

wife’s having a job would make Ro’s any worse” (Zumas 138). Ultimately, Susan knows that the

rivalry and envious feelings towards Ro will not make her situation any better, but she struggles

to see where her purpose in life is in a way that is separate from her family.

On the other hand, Ro’s problems stem from her inability to naturally have children and

the government prohibiting single parent adoption (Zumas 34). For these reasons, women like

Susan and Mattie are objects of her envy as both have things that are out of her grasp. Ro’s inner

monologue often thinks about Susan's lot in life and how easy things seem to go for her. After

another doctor’s visit Ro reflects on motherhood, “Susan’s marks of motherhood: spider veins at

the knee backs, loose stomach skin, lowered breasts. Affronts to vanity worn as badges of the

ultimate accomplishment” (Zumas 91). In contrast to her politically aware character, Ro finds

herself longing for a child of her own which makes her confused because she does not want to

feel like she is incomplete without one. Simply put, much of an adult’s life is filled with people
asking questions about marriage and children as these are considered milestones in a person’s

life. Ro mentions this about Susan’s character by saying “Susan is a person who does what you

do,” which is the complete opposite of Ro (Zumas 204). In fact, Ro has no interest in completing

milestones but still finds a way to compare herself to Susan. This is a result of the society that we

live in that tells you are incomplete as a woman without attaining certain goals like marriage or

children.

It is also for this reason that the rivalry between Susan and Ro continues for most of the

book as they buy into the oppressing ideas of society that keeps them from understanding one

another. For many reasons, people are hesitant to share their plights with others and in the case

of these women “a comparing mind is a despairing mind” (Zumas 67). It becomes difficult for

people to relate to one another or even believe that they can when they have feelings of envy. For

example Ro thinks, “If she told Susan about seeing the witch, Susan would act supportive and

serious, then laugh about it behind the biographer’s back. With Didier” (Zumas 67). In Ro’s

eyes, a person like Susan who seems to have everything cannot possibly understand her situation.

She sees Susan has someone who is valued in society's eyes because she has children and is

married compared to Ro who cannot achieve these things. In the same way, Susan is unable to

share her issues with Ro because she does not have children nor is she married. These

differences between the women seem too great in their eyes which blocks them from

understanding the ways they are similar.

Simply put, all the characters in Red Clocks share similar experiences because they are

women in this dystopian American society. They are all expected to live their lives in a certain

way that is honorable in the eyes of society. However, these expectations are limiting and

impossible. For example Susan is the optimal woman in society as she is a housewife and
mother, but she struggles to find any joy in her current place in life. She wants to be more than

these limiting titles without feeling as though she is neglecting her children. In response to Didier

telling her to go back to work, Susan states: “I wish it were that easy”(Zumas 110). She is unable

to do things for herself or go back to things she left behind because she has children who need

her and an unhelpful husband. In Ro’s case, she is struggling with her reasons for wanting a

child. Is it due to evolutionary needs to reproduce or because others around her have children

(Zumas 91)? Ro spends much of her time contemplating this issue and often has to defend

herself from others who question her desire to have a child. For instance, Ro has to make her

case to Didier who states: “No, I just mean you have no idea how hard it’s going to be” (Zumas

67). Most people in Ro’s life are skeptical about her being a single mother which adds to her

confusion about her desire to have a child.

Mattie, The Daughter, also has her own struggles since she becomes pregnant and does

not want to keep it. However, she is unable to terminate the pregnancy due to abortion being

illegal and the Pink Wall that prohibits her from going to Canada to do so (Zumas 197). An

important thing to mention is that Mattie looks up to Ro and her political viewpoints concerning

women. So when Mattie tells Ro that she is pregnant, she is confused by Ro’s response: “What

happened to the Ro/Miss who says we have better things to do with our lives than throw

ourselves down the stairs?” (Zumas 198). As her plan to abort the pregnancy gets closer, Mattie

thinks about her life and potentially the things she will be missing (Zumas 249). Mattie and the

other women in this book are trying to define themselves outside of society’s pressure which is

what makes them so similar. The society that they live in has taken away their autonomy when it

comes to reproductive rights and still have to deal with making their own choices. For Ro, it’s

her reason to have a child; Susan, her happiness over being a housewife; and Mattie, her sudden
pregnancy. As an illustration, Mattie thinks: “But she has a self. Why not use it?” (Zumas 249).

All of these women are struggling to make their own decisions because in some form it has been

taken away from them.

At its core, Red Clocks is an intriguing novel about the plights of women and the struggle

for autonomy. Leni Zumas makes the daring choice to set the book in a dystopian American

society which tells the readers that these issues and situations could actually happen (if it is not

happening already). The women are connected in their own individual yet whole story to

understand their value and what it means to be a woman in a society that has already decided for

you. As a result of having no choice or feeling like you do not, it leaves you comparing your

situation to others and not seeing your own purpose in life. Thus, the limiting lens that society

sees through is maintained by the same women who are oppressed by it.

Work Cited

Zumas, Leni. Red Clocks. New York, NY, Little, Brown, and Company, 2018.