Publishing Data
Originally published in the Magazine
of Science Fiction & Fantasy, March 1959
Collected in The Wesleyan Anthology of Science Fiction, ed. Arthur B. Evans et al.
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| Preview |
| In a tour de force,
a temporal agent recruits a bitter young man to become a time traveller. |
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| Background |
- Eric
Rabkin calls this story "perhaps the most famous exploration of the
paradoxes of time travel."
- James
Gunn calls this story "hardboiled science fiction."
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| Navigation Guide |
| Reread
the story and note the clues to the identity of the narrator. Did Heinlein
"play fair" with the reader? |
| Describe
the tone of the story. |
| Explain
the relationship among the narrator, the Unmarried Woman, Jane, Jane's baby,
and the father of Jane's baby. |
| The
story was written in 1959; the narrator lives in 1993; most of the story
takes place between 1963 and 1970. Note and comment on the glimpses of the
future in this story. |
| Explain
the very last section of the story. What is Heinlein's point here? |
| Heinlein's
attitudes toward both women and sexuality have always been problematic.
What is his attitude toward women in this story? |
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