I Who Have Never Known Men Summary
Jacqueline Harpman

I Who Have Never Known Men Overview

In Jacqueline Harpman's I Who Have Never Known Men, 40 women are imprisoned in a cage underground without reason or cause. The youngest of the group is the unnamed first person narrator. As she comes of age as a captive, the narrator must rely upon her companions to make sense of the world she never knew. Then one day, the women exact their freedom. When they emerge from the cage, they find themselves faced with the unknown. Through her speculative and stream-of-consciousness narrative, the author explores themes including freedom, knowledge, and companionship.