I Who Have Never Known Men

Unlike her companions, the protagonist has no memories of life outside the bunker. The women often speak of the world they knew, but the child can barely create mental images of the things they describe, never having even seen a photograph. Upon their escape, therefore, the narrator’s and the women’s experiences of their new reality differ greatly, based on their degrees of curiosity about the new world versus their expectations based on their old lives.

When the protagonist first climbs her prison’s staircase, she describes it as “an intoxicating ascent towards the undreamed of, at that moment [she knows] not what, the outside” (70). Her mind is full of mysterious words awaiting corresponding images. Outside, she wants to let her mind linger on the sky but feels there is too much else to discover. She is overcome with curiosity.

Anthea’s first comment, however, is about her thwarted expectations that they would be near a city. She appears so anxious and confused that the narrator feels sympathy for her. Likewise, when the other women arrive, they all murmur about the strangeness of the land and appear terrified. Because they cannot recognize the location, they cannot recognize their liberation.