In spite of the shackles of Goncharov's colonial gaze and authority, the women's alternative, accidental stories—of noncompliance, evasion, and disrespect—bloom between his lines.
But casting menopause as sad and a bit of a joke (" Haha, hot flushes! Brain fog" ! ) while not accommodating it at work is another way to marginalise those increasingly non-compliant older women.
After speaking with more than 100 women about the menopause, she notes that almost without exception they talk of gaining the ability to say no, of being less compliant and being able to put themselves first.
The persecution of witches was part of this - women being burned or buried or drowned for not conforming, for being too alluring or not attractive enough, and for being, one way or another, too sexually threatening.