Week 9 - No Woman Born

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This week I read C.L. Moore's short story, No Woman Born. While I was reading this, it was very prominent that this was a space opera sort of story. I felt this whole love triangle thing going on between Harris, Maltzer, and Dierdre, especially at how Harris describes Maltzer and Dierdre's interactions with each other as if he's somewhat jealous of their relationship.

I noticed the themes of female empowerment in this story. Dierdre constantly tries put herself out there despite the amount of times Maltzer tried to keep her away from human eyes. Saying that everyone out there wasn't ready for her because she's a one of a kind robot. Of course eventually doesn't listen and follows her feelings, despite that she's aware of what she is. In addition to that, she's also incredible strong and flexible, being that she's a robot. I just thought it was interesting that Moore decided to write this into a female robotic character, since robots are typically made to serve humans, but I guess as long as Dierdre has a human brain, she can be as human as she desires to be.

One thing I found interesting was how often Harris described Dierdre's appearance. The way he talks about the way she sways and how beautiful she is despite being a robot kind of sets up how much he's entirely awestruck by her appearance. It kind of seems like he's glorifying her and he wants to put her center stage.

Overall I think the imagery in this story is one of my favorites. I feel like Dierdre would have one of those cool, sleek, retro appearances. Space opera always had an aesthetic that drew me in.

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