debka_notion | Realization Regarding A Piece of Fiction

I've been rereading Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, it being an old favorite, and I've been astounded by 2 things. The first is the clarity with which Heinlein's weird ambivalence about women as superbeings and as beings to be pampered and taken care of comes through, as well as his weird ideas of family dynamics. The second is the fact that Deety is supposed to be my age, 22, in the novel. (She is also supposed to have already earned a Ph.D. and done assorted other wonders. But still...) It's pretty strange. Not the first time I've reread a book and found that the main character is suddenly my age or younger when I had once thought that they were so adult, but it seems that every time it happens, it feels strange.