The polygamy, I think, could also play into the women’s rights nightmare. (And while I’m saying “their,” I of course would be really opposed to this system, too!) You can see clearly from recent news stories that many women are incredibly concerned about their “reproductive freedom.” I imagine Wither, where women literally ARE forced to give birth is something like their worst nightmare. I agree that what makes this “dystopian” to readers is the issue, essentially, of women’s rights. They are essentially victims and not active participants. The other two wives have their own attitudes, but are provided backstories that make any actions they take that could be “distasteful” to readers seem to be the fault of the corrupt system in which they are raised. DeStefano takes particular care to distance Rhine from the situation, making it clear that she never wanted to be there and having her refuse to act as a wife in any capacity. It has far more detractors than supporters even in terms of characters. I think you said on Twitter that you’re about halfway through the book (I don’t have an account, but I occasionally stalk!), so it won’t be a spoiler to mention that absolutely nobody is actually enjoying polygamy in this world. As much as DeStefano probably included it to make it “edgy,” she took a lot of effort to make it a nonissue. I agree that polygamy isn’t really the “problem” with this book.
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