Delilah and the Space Rigger
Encyclopedia
"Delilah and the Space Rigger", a science fiction
short story
by Robert A. Heinlein
, is one of his most explicitly feminist-themed short stories. One of his Future History
stories, it originally appeared in Blue Book in December 1949 and was reprinted in his collection, The Green Hills of Earth
(and subsequently The Past Through Tomorrow
).
technician and joins the all-male crew of construction workers building a space station
. On her arrival she immediately has a confrontation with the hard-boiled construction superintendent, who hadn't realized she was female. He doesn't want any women "sniffing around my boys" and orders her returned on the next shuttle, only to be overruled by management. The superintendent is constantly putting his foot in his mouth with remarks like, "Mind what [Hammond] tells you. He's a good man," only to hear a brisk, "I know, I trained him." In the end, the superintendent is forced to admit that having a woman on the team has improved morale and efficiency, rather than causing a disruption, and he decides to stop discriminating on the basis of gender. He also asks that a Chaplain be assigned to the station, reasoning, "We may need one anytime."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
, is one of his most explicitly feminist-themed short stories. One of his Future History
Future History
The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...
stories, it originally appeared in Blue Book in December 1949 and was reprinted in his collection, The Green Hills of Earth
The Green Hills of Earth (short story collection)
The Green Hills of Earth is a collection of science fiction short stories by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1951, although it includes short stories published as early as 1941. The stories are part of Heinlein's Future History. The title story is the tale of an old space mariner reflecting upon...
(and subsequently The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow
The Past Through Tomorrow is a collection of Robert A. Heinlein's Future History stories.Most of the stories are part of a larger storyline of a rapidly collapsing American sanity, followed by a theocratic dictatorship...
).
Summary
Gloria Brooks McNye, a Communications Engineer, wangles a job as a radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
technician and joins the all-male crew of construction workers building a space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
. On her arrival she immediately has a confrontation with the hard-boiled construction superintendent, who hadn't realized she was female. He doesn't want any women "sniffing around my boys" and orders her returned on the next shuttle, only to be overruled by management. The superintendent is constantly putting his foot in his mouth with remarks like, "Mind what [Hammond] tells you. He's a good man," only to hear a brisk, "I know, I trained him." In the end, the superintendent is forced to admit that having a woman on the team has improved morale and efficiency, rather than causing a disruption, and he decides to stop discriminating on the basis of gender. He also asks that a Chaplain be assigned to the station, reasoning, "We may need one anytime."