She would certainly have more power and would be able to hire an attorney to represent her, and enable her to possibly fight the removal of her daughter, and even fight her forced incarceration in the mental asylum. Connie has no money but believes her life would be much different if she did. The issue of poverty is also wrapped up in the theme of class. She feels that although middle and upper class people spank their kids, only the working class and the poor are investigated if they do so. Connie feels very strongly that she is treated badly because she is lower class an example of this is the way in which her daughter is taken away from her. Nobody is above anyone, or more important than anyone, because everyone is equal. Mattapoisett is Connie's imaginary place of the future where there is no class system, and by definition, no class discrimination. This raises the question as to who really is the insane one - Connie, for wanting to be in a better world, or the people in the real world who think that experimenting on someone is actually perfectly acceptable. Connie is treated like an experiment and surgeons cannot wait to operate on her brain. Like Connie, they lose all privileges and are not allowed to make decisions for themselves. The book is also not as interested in the nature of mental illness as it is in the way that people considered to be mentally ill are treated. Degrees of madness are not really compared in the novel Jackrabbit's condition is most likely some kind of anxiety disorder that could be assuaged with therapy and the addition of an emotional support dog Connie would be less easy to help. These violence episodes are considered more than anger, and are likely caused by some level of sociopathy. Not all of those suffering from mental illness in the book are violent, but Connie is, as is the father of her child. The key theme of the novel is mental illness, although the author does not seem to differentiate between emotional conditions and full blown 'madness' Jackrabbit is admitted into a mental asylum because he is having trouble making decisions, whilst Connie receives visits from imaginary friends and seems to have schizophrenic episodes. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community.

Woman on the edge of time