Social transformation
The essence of Piercy's utopian vision is social transformation achieved after the existing civilization had been destroyed through environmental degradation and war. "The transformation of existing society into utopia is a precarious enterprise attainable only through a process of making choices and crossing boundaries."[2] Descriptions of Mattapoisett, the potential future society described in the novel, emphasize that collective struggle has led to their egalitarian lifestyle and collective action is how they get along so well. "What is most important in Piercy's concern with activism is the basic connection between personal action and historical change itself. The revolution is not inevitable. It is a process of change that may require appropriate conditions and happen more readily at particular historical moments, but it will not happen at all without personal commitment and struggle."[3] The reader is left to decide whether Mattapoisett and the self-determination of its inhabitants are real or figments of Connie's imagination. "By couching the reality of Connie's visions in ambiguity, the text questions the idealism of utopian thinking while showing that social change nevertheless starts in the realm of ideas."[4] The novel criticizes mental institutions and hospitalization of its time extensively, and brings the problem of free will to the forefront as well as suggesting alternative routes to mental wellness and social reform. Throughout the novel, Piercy demonstrates that violence is the key to getting change to occur. Connie's revolt against the system may have been unsuccessful, but it had inspired others to continue to fight.[5] This overarching theme ties into real life as feminists and other activist groups have fought for social change during the 1970s.
Feminism
Piercy has described Mattapoisett as not a utopia "because it's accessible. There's almost nothing there except the brooder not accessible now. So it's hardly a utopia; it is very intentionally not a utopia because it is not strikingly new. The ideas are the ideas basically of the women's movement."[6] Each character in Mattapoisett has a counterpart in Connie's present world, juxtaposing differences in personal power hence, opportunities for self-actualization. For example, Connie's friend Skip who has been committed to the mental institution by his father for being gay reminds her of Jackrabbit, a bisexual person who is not only accepted but very popular in Mattapoisett. In stark contrast to the mental hospital where the doctors are all men, in Mattapoisett, women have a special tradition and role in healing,[7] and positions of power rotate among men and women alike. Even traditional parental power has been done away with, and the experience of motherhood is shared among women and men, as technology has been developed to gestate babies in a mechanical brooder and men have been enabled to breast-feed.[8] Motherhood is seen as a duty to be shared equally by each parent, regardless of gender. "In addition, critics have treated the novel as an allegory for the conflict in academia between dogmatic feminism and the commitment to motherhood."[4] "The deconstruction of power structures is continued on a linguistic level, where Piercy deletes the dimorphism of the objective and possessive pronouns 'his' and 'her,' which have been replaced with the unisex 'per' referencing the single personal pronoun 'person.'"[9] Feminist futurists argue that Piercy's nonlinear and complex structure of the novel leads to a more broad argument in regards to feminism. This idea is arguing to show that in order to deal with feminist solutions for the future, that there are problems from the past that must be addressed.[10]
LGBTQIA+ equality
The idea of queer characters can be seen throughout the novel with Skip, Jackrabbit, and Luciente. Piercy shows the Skip going to a mental hospital for being gay showcasing her continuation of struggle other individuals. Also, Luciente has a queer relationship with her friend Diana. Piercy through this novel shows through the struggles of queer characters that there is progress to be made for those who are queer. Connie goes through a journey in Mattiposett in regards to the queer characters as she associates gendered roles to parents of the children. This is disproven by Luciente as they have both masculine and feminine qualities while in a queer relationship. Connie soon adapts to this idea by and begins to embrace homosexuality casting aside her patriarchal ideals from her present time. Through Piercy's portrayal of Connie's adaptation to Mattipoisett's homosexual relationships, it continues to show Piercy's point of queer progress in the novel.[11]
