This essay is a critical comparison of Adrienne Rich and Patricia Williams, one as an idealist and the other as a realist.

Adrienne Rich and Patricia Williams are two very distinct voices, the former being something of an idealist, and the latter a realist. Adrienne Rich's voice taking idealistic positions on how society, more specifically, women can regain self-control and self-knowledge if they look back, "re-envisioning" the past. This way, women can ultimately revise it and render it differently, for the better, in the present and future. Patricia Williams, on the other hand, understands the concept of …

…people may not have liked. Williams sees Adrienne Rich's revisions as possible, but never so simple as looking into the past, and drawing what one desires. Williams sees revision as an all-encompassing, completely revolutionary movement that would require more than a couple of individuals and their actions. It involves the cooperation of an entire race, culture, and society. This, according to Patricia Williams, is the challenge of "revision as a means" of "rewriting the future."