As a female, I placed myself in Lilith’s situation and found the most alien aspect of the situation would be unaware and unconnected to my own body. Women have been advertised and known to be one with their bodies, emotionally and spiritually connected to their bodies in a way that men aren’t. By having the Oankali population break that boundary, alienation of oneself becomes possible. You could relate the invasion of Lilith’s body to that of the experience a surrogate mother endures. A woman, is inserted with a foreign being, or organism, has zero relation to the cause of it, but is continuing to carry it for the future betterment of someone else’s family. Lilith seems to be doing just that. Her constant internal questioning as to whether or not the Ooloi had injected her with other foreign chemicals or organs while they were removing the supposed cancer they had found. Had they removed it solely out of the concern for Lilith’s health, or was their main motivation in removing it for the own betterment of their alien society?

If I were in Lilith’s shoes I would be analyzing and second guessing every bump on my, now 250 + year old body. A woman knows her body, and after such a long period of time, with or without age-preventing plants keeping you young, a body will become foreign to a woman. Knowing that someone has invaded your body without permission, being the main concern, is unsettling. How can someone or something know what was best for you especially when they aren’t even allowing you the opportunity to make a decision by Awakening you? In blunt terms, I feel this alien population has raped Lilith of her womanhood; her ability of choice, self-assurance, and security were erased when they “preserved” her against will.