Jacqueline Harpman’s Eye Opening Dystopia: A Review of “I Who Have Never Known Men”

Editor: Ciara Teefey

★★★★

I Who Have Never Known Men is a 1995 dystopian novel by Jacqueline Harpman, in which the young female narrator has no recollection of the world that decays above her.

Book cover of "I Who Have Never Known Men" by Jacqueline Harpman, pub. Vintage

From the novel's outset, the reader is immediately immersed in the setting of an underground cage containing thirty-nine imprisoned women. Each woman holds varying knowledge of the world above and has no idea how they got there. We become immediately entwined within this world of disturbing obliviousness, where our protagonist holds just as little knowledge as the reader. To such an extent, the female protagonist remains nameless throughout the novel and is only referred to as “the child.”

Though ostracised by the other women due to her unfamiliarity with their shared female experience, such as menstruation, she ironically becomes the key to the others’ survival. This novel delves into the haunting quest for truth and the resilience of female solidarity, recommended for readers who appreciate mystery, thought-provoking prose, and the complexities of life.

The main themes that guide this novel are isolation and what it means to be human, especially as a woman. Harpman cleverly adopts these motifs through her writing style, often entwining poetic lines throughout the novel and allowing the reader time to reflect on their own lives as well as those of the characters.

However, although I provide high appraisal for these stylistic choices in the novel, I often struggled with the slow pace of the text, occasionally feeling as though the narrative was going in circles. Yet, due to the macabre setting and daunting descriptions of life, the slow rhythm of the text can be viewed as a deliberate choice by Harpman.

Compared to more mainstream dystopias such as The Hunger Games, the difference in plot is one that struck me. Instead of being very action-based and centred around a hero or heroine, it draws upon philosophical questions instead, using its dystopian setting as a metaphor for much bigger themes. I felt enlightened and reflective after reading this book, as I witnessed the slow path it takes to reach a stage of self-discovery.

I would further recommend this novel to young adults and those who may feel lost and unsure of what the future holds. Thus, Harpman crafts a dystopia that may feel extremely close to home for many students, as although we aren’t trapped in a cage, we could most definitely infer this as a metaphor, representing our fears of the unknown as we grow up.