I didn’t say that every story needs to include a mix of genders speaking. This story does have a mix, though. And it’s interesting that the characters conform

I didn’t say that every story needs to include a mix of genders speaking. This story does have a mix, though. And it’s interesting that the characters conform to U.S. 1950s gender roles despite the plot covering enormous distances and spans of future time. This is simply because it was written by someone in the 1950s for readers in the 1950s. Likewise, in the U.S. in the 1950s it was broadly assumed that everyone was familiar with the language of the Christian Bible, especially King James. Whereas today’s society is less religious overall and more overtly diverse. An editor considering this story today would have to think about how many people would simply miss the reference of the last line.