Insanity By Marge Piercy: An Analysis

When referring to the term “insane” certain words come to mind; mad, crazy, foolish, and psychotic, but what does this mean exactly. Seneca, a Roman Stoic Philosopher once said, “There has never been any great genius without a spice of madness.”(1. De Tranquillitate Animi (XVII, 10)
Concepts and ideas aren’t always going to make it to the thought stream of the masses without some sort of help, such as war-fare, pestilence, or some serious loss on a global scale.

Humans all started from the same origin. Whether one believes in religion or in scientific speculations as to the beginning of man, what’s certain is no one person is greater than the other, it’s just the story that goes with that individual as to where they turn up
When referring to something as normal, one can say that “it lacks of significant deviation from the average”, or it conforms to the ideals of society. Woman on the Edge of Time, by Marge Piercy, tackles this exact term and opens up the cavity of the source as to why humans in this society follow such standards that don’t work. Through the ideals of Luciente, a prophet of sorts from the future, Consuelo Ramos, the Latina protagonist, is brought to realize that there are other ways to live one’s life, and to follow a system that is already in place isn’t the only method to exist. This system in existence goes everywhere from the way humans dispose of their waste all the way to how we treat those that have committed crimes as Parra
When someone crazed does something out of the ordinary, the scientific explanation is “insanity” but because of that label so much can be done. Many great people throughout history have been labeled as mad with their ideas but in the end their name is the one that is remembered. Anything from inventions, to governing a people, an individual has to be a little crazy, but it’s these few that say what the majority of people are thinking. Society’s strength over people is a useful tool in keeping pseudo-order but it can be put to use in such a way that helps promote a more advanced society. The issues that everyday people face are becoming worse and worse due to the ideas that are currently given but the opposing actions that are actually taking place. It’s becomes a sad situation when strength in numbers is held in the balance of a few people in power. Marge suggests another outlet to living and something if anything that is different from the norm might be enough to get humans out of the rut they have dug themselves