The Word for World is Forest

In this book I thought that the contrast between the social structures of the two societies was interesting. In the yumen society the men were defiantly the dominant rulers. They were the ones who did all the work, fighting, and made the important decisions. Women were alive simply for breeding and for sexual pleasure. However, in the Athshean society there was more of a balance of power between men and women. The men made decisions, but the women were the ones who ruled the villages and actually made the decisions be put into practice. The men and women equally needed each other. The women were not treated as simply a pleasure, they were treated like human beings. We see this when Selver grieves for his wife who was murdered. The author seems to be making a statement about today's society. Since the yumen were originally from Earth perhaps she was exploring an extremely exaggerated version of today's society, and the Athshean's society is the ideal society.