I'm a huge fan of the novel and having watched the first three episodes, so far, it's sizing up to be what I hoped. I really like how they are fleshing out some of the backstory without straying far from the text. The inclusion of recognizable pop tunes into the soundtrack brilliantly extends the characteristic of the novel that made it sensational. The fact that the terrifying "future" happened so quickly, the characters can still painfully remember the normalcy of the past, which is startlingly similar to the viewers' present. It's the right show at exactly the right time.
What of all the other lower class barren women? Perhaps the book delves into this more in depth?
Well, I know the book does a bit, but not always in great detail. I believe Aunts were usually older infertile women (post-menopausal), which is why the name for them suggests indirect matriarchy or authority. Most single infertile women became Marthas (cooks and servants). Some lower-class or impoverished men were allowed to keep their former fertile wives, known as Econowives, who had to be Wife, Handmaiden and Martha to their households because servants were only to be provided to those of great wealth and power. Some women were allowed to become Jezebels (Government-sanctioned prostitutes) in exchange for being sentenced to the Colonies for their crimes. Then there are the Unwomen who are basically any woman deemed either useless or a traitor by the government. The Unwomen are usually sent to the Colonies, the work camps where they assist in cleanup from nuclear fallout until they die from the radiation.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
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