Control

In the speculative world of Graceful Burdens, the lives of Gray's primary female characters are dictated by a restrictive societal structure. As women, Hadley, Sidra, Seraphina, Gabriella, and Chloe are consigned to one of two fates, their destinies therefore controlled by a rigid system. At the age of 16, like every other woman in the Federated States, Hadley, Sidra, Seraphina, Gabriella, and Chloe are "legally obligated to submit [themselves] to genetic screening to determine [their] suitability for procreation" (5). If they do not pass the screening, they do not receive a license, and are thus disallowed from marrying or having children. If they do pass the screening, they receive a license, and are matched by the profiling system to "a screened man whose genetic profile would complement" theirs (5). While this sorting process is meant to create only the most optimal genetic outcomes, its implications are much further reaching...