Connie has an invisible friend and believes she travels to the future. She may be mentally ill. But Woman on the Edge of Time is less interested in telling you whether or not she's ill than it is in showing you what happens to people who are considered mentally ill.
Even if Connie is schizophrenic, she's still a human being; doctors don't have the right to experiment on her brain, or keep her constantly drugged against her will. Is Connie really crazy for dreaming of a future in which you're not shunned or beaten or sneered at just because you're mentally ill?
Questions About Madness
- Is Connie crazy or insane when she hits her daughter? When she poisons the doctors? Explain your answer.
- How are the mentally ill treated in Mattapoisett, and how is this different from how they are treated in the present?
- Who, if anyone, does this novel present as the most mentally ill?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
Mattapoisett keeps Connie from going insane.
Mattapoisett leads Connie to insanity.