The Children of Men

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**Title** **The Children of Men**
Cover of the 1994 paperback edition
Author	P. D. James
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Christian Dystopian novel
Publisher	Alfred A. Knopf
Released	1992
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	241 pp
ISBN	ISBN 0679418733 (Hardcover) ISBN 0446679208 (Paperback)

For the 2006 film adaptation of the novel, see Children of Men.

The Children of Men is a dystopian novel by P. D. James that was published in 1992. Set in England in 2021, it centers on the results of mass infertility. James describes a Britain that is steadily depopulating and focuses on a small group of resistors who do not share the disillusionment of the masses.

A loose film adaptation, directed by Alfonso Cuarón and starring Clive Owen, was released in 2006. Substantial changes were made in terms of plot, political message and characters in the updated film.

1 Plot summary
2 See also
3 Trivia
4 External links

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The narrative voice for the novel alternates between a conventional third-person narrative and a first person narrative in the form of the diary kept by Dr. Theodore Faron, normally called "Theo", who is an Oxford don. His wife Helena left him two years before the book begins. Their marriage deteriorated after Theo accidentally ran over and killed their infant daughter Natalie.

The novel opens with the first entry in Theo's diary. It is the year 2021, but the novel's events have their origin in 1995, which has been referred to as "Year Omega" ever since. Theo writes that the last human being to be born on Earth, a young Argentine man, has been killed in a pub brawl in Buenos Aires.

Theo takes us back to 1995, when, for reasons unknown, the sperm counts of all human males plummeted to zero. Even sperm already in storage lost their potency. The last people to be born -- i.e., all children born in 1995 -- have come to be called "Omegas": "A race apart," they enjoy various prerogatives and, now in their mid-twenties, generally seem to be very proud to be the youngest humans alive.

Having access to statistical data, the first people to notice that something is wrong are gynaecologists, obstetricians, and midwives, whereas couples who want to have a child just think they are not lucky. It takes several more months until the governments all over the world grasp the situation and its implications, and measures are taken to combat what most people still cannot believe to be true. Among the results:

Frantic scientific research begins. Scientists all over the world try to get to the bottom of the problem and find a solution, but, as it turns out, to no avail. In the long run, scientific research comes to a complete standstill, with one exception: all medical efforts are focused on longevity, on prolonging life, with everyone anxious to keep fit and stay alive.
Among the world population, general apathy spreads. People lose hope in the future: If the human race is dying out, they see no point in planning for the future or in preserving their national heritage. In 2008, there is a marked increase in the suicide rate. Women who have grown up after the Omega year, are very much traumatized by the fact that they can't have children. Many use dolls as substitutes for infants or animals like dogs and cats dressed in baby clothes. Some women want to baptise these "animal-children" and there is much debate about whether priests should perform this service.
Superstition is on the rise: Some people are waiting and hoping for extraterrestrials to arrive and take over. Others fall prey to evangelists who "sell salvation" and claim that man's infertility is God's punishment for his disobedience and sinfulness. Some small groups perform human sacrifices.

In 2006, a man called Xan Lyppiatt, Theo's rich and charismatic cousin, takes over from the last Prime Minister and appoints himself Warden of England. It is the year in which the last general election is held. Out of necessity -- people have lost all interest in politics -- Lyppiatt abolishes democracy and replaces it with a dictatorship. He is called a despot and a tyrant by his opponents, but officially the new society is referred to as egalitarian.

Theo is approached by a woman called Julian, member of a group of dissidents who call themselves the Five Fishes. He meets with them at an isolated church. Rolf, their nominal leader and Julian's husband, is hostile, but the others - Miriam (a midwife), Gascoigne, Luke (a former priest), and Julian - are more personable. The group tell Theo they want him to approach Xan on their behalf, and ask him to return the country's government to a more democratic system. During their discussions, and as Theo prepares to meet with Xan, we learn how Britain is run in 2021:

The country is governed by decree of the Council of England, which represents the executive branch (the government) and consists of five people only. Below that level, there are District, Regional and Local Councils, whose chairmen are appointed by the Warden (rather than elected). Parliament still exists, but its function has been reduced to an advisory role. It meets once a year. Its members are elected by the District and Regional Councils. The King, too, still exists (albeit "uncrowned"), but he is under house arrest.

The Grenadiers -- formerly an elite regiment in the British armed forces -- are the Warden's private army. They take an oath to the Warden personally.

The State Secret Police (SSP) ensures that the Council's decrees are executed.

There are travel restrictions for anyone under 65. Hardly any "exit permits" (passports) are issued by the authorities.

The law courts still exist, but as the citizens are very reluctant to do jury service, juries have been abolished altogether. Under the "new arrangements", defendants are tried by a judge and two magistrates.

The Church of England has fragmented into numerous sects. The new Archbishop is a woman appointed by the Warden.

Drastic measures have been taken to pacify the citizens and delude them into thinking that the end is not that near and that leading a comfortable life will be possible in the years to come. For example, a deportation policy has been adopted: A penal colony has been established on the Isle of Man. All criminals, even burglars, are dumped there and left to their own devices. There is starvation and even cannibalism there. The island is ruled (or rather run) on the principles of Social Darwinism by those convicts who are strongest, who have been able to seize power and oppress other prisoners. There is no remission: Once there, you are there for life. Escape from the island is virtually impossible. Visitors are forbidden, and prisoners are not allowed to write or receive letters.

Generally, the crime rate has decreased sharply. As there are no young people, there are no young offenders and there is no juvenile delinquency. Life has become much quieter. For example, there is no inner-city violence.

By decree of the Council of England, every citizen is required to learn skills, such as husbandry, which they might need to help them survive if they happen to be among the last human beings in Britain. This policy is about "survival in comfort", about becoming self-sufficient, and being able to produce one's own food.

Owing to the ever-increasing labour shortage, supplies are rationed. However, if all people are equal, some people are more equal than others. For example, the 70-year-old chairman of the local Oxford Council is said to be doing that job because it entitles him to a generous petrol allowance.

Foreign workers are lured into the country and then exploited. It seems the Warden is doing better than the politicians in power in other countries: Young people, preferably Omegas, from poorer countries come to England to work there. These "foreign Omegas" or, generally, "Sojourners" are imported to do the dirty work (collecting rubbish, mending the roads, etc.), invariably wearing yellow and brown overalls. Some of them are employed as domestic workers, but this extra help is available only to those who qualify. They have to live in camps, with the sexes separated from one another, which amounts to a modern form of legalized slavery. At 60, which is the age limit, they are sent back ("forcibly repatriated"). British Omegas, however, are not allowed to emigrate so as to prevent further loss of labour or a brain drain.

The oldest citizens have become a major problem because they cannot be well cared for properly any longer. For the privileged few, there are nursing homes. The rest face more gruesome options: They can either (a) die helpless and unassisted in their homes; or (b) they can commit suicide. Everyone seems to have decided already how this will be done. Most people seem to have a "final pill" hidden in their medicine chest. More educated and refined people, including the Warden himself, dream about taking their "lethal capsule" with a good bottle of wine. Others decide to take part in a so-called Quietus. Before he agrees to see the Council as Julian and the others ask, Theo views a Quietus and is injured by one of the security people supervising it while trying to save a woman he knew.

The Quietus is an institutionalized form of mass suicide, with old people drowning (or rather being drowned) in company. Such events are usually held in some quiet, half-deserted, seaside town that is not easily accessible, so that there are as few relatives as possible present when it happens. There is also talk of "blood money", i.e., money paid to the relatives of suicides as a government incentive to participate in the Quietus.

An ever-increasing part of the land is reverting to wilderness. Houses, churches, and other buildings are boarded up and abandoned, whole villages are deserted. Certain roads are officially closed because they can no longer be maintained. Gas, electricity and other services can no longer be guaranteed everywhere. The Council has initiated a massive resettlement programme, encouraging people to move back to the cities, to so-called "future approved population centres" (or "designated urban districts"). In addition, people have started hoarding goods like matches, since they are well aware that the production and the sale of such everyday items will one day cease.

Generally, nature is reclaiming its due. Many of the beautiful English gardens are being neglected, and woodland is gradually growing. Few cars are still on the road, and people can once again experience absolute silence and enjoy an unpolluted environment. In a highly symbolic scene, a young deer that "can't wait" is trapped in a chapel in Oxford.

One might think that in 2021 sex has become some sort of national pastime, given that there is little else to do and no danger of unwanted pregnancies. However, people have lost interest in sex, and the state has had to open "pornography centres". Apart from phantom pregnancies, more and more women have what they describe as "painful orgasms", i.e., the muscular contractions without the accompanying feeling of pleasure.

Twice a year, all healthy women under 45 must submit to a gynaecological examination, and all men must have their sperm tested, to keep hope alive that intelligent life on this planet might not be heading for extinction. Eugenics plays an important role here: people with physical or mental handicaps are excluded.

Generally, the three aims of the Council of England are (1) protection and security, (2) comfort, and (3) pleasure -- corresponding to the Warden's promises of (1) freedom from fear, (2) freedom from want, and (3) freedom from boredom. It is estimated that it will take about 70 years until the last human -- probably an Omega – dies: That would be around the year 2090, and he or she would then be about 95 years old.

Theo's meeting with Xan, which is actually a meeting with the full Council of England, does not go well. Some of the other members resent his input because he resigned as Xan's advisor rather than share the responsibility of governing Britain. Furthermore, Xan guesses that Theo's suggestions came from others and makes clear to Theo that he will take action against dissidents.

The Five Fishes nevertheless publish and distribute a leaflet detailing their demands. As a result, Theo is visited by the SSP and, shortly afterwards, Theo sees Julian in the market. He warns her of the SSP visit and then tells her that if ever she needs him, she only has to send for him and he will come. Later that night, however, Theo decides to leave England for the summer and visist the continent before nature completely overruns it.

Soon after his return, Miriam appears at his door. While trying to rig a Quietus landing stage to explode, Gascoigne was arrested. The other Fishes are about to go on the run, and Julian wants him. As Theo and Miriam drive to meet the remainder of the group, Miriam reveals why Julian did not come herself -- Julian is pregnant. At first, Theo is convinced that Julian is deceiving herself as had been the case with many women shortly after Omega or perhaps has a tumor. When the two finally meets up with the rest of the Five Fish, Julian invites Theo to listen to her daughter's heartbeat and Theo believes.

Though Theo wants to notify his cousin as he believes it would be much safer for the child to be born in a hospital, Julian refuses as she does not want the Warden to have anything to do with her child. Though he still disagrees, Theo agrees to take the four somewhere safe, but points out that the SSP will be looking for his car, too. Theo heads to his old teacher Jasper Palmer-Smith who still lives in the country to steal his car. On arrival, Theo discovers Jasper had committed suicide. Along with the car, Theo takes supplies and the gun Jasper had used to kill himself.

The car is ambushed by the Painted Faces (a wild gang composed mainly of Omegas that kill travelers and burn their cars) and Luke is killed while trying to protect Julian and Rolf who ran off in an effort to protect the child. Julian confesses that the father of her child is not Rolf, but the deceased Luke. Rolf, who clearly thinks he should rule Britain in Xan's place, is angered by finding out that he never had his trump card -- his effective sperm -- did not exist and abandons the group to notify the Warden.

With the loss of Jaspers' car, Theo ventures into a nearby town and steals another car as well as a few supplies from an eldery couple that he forced to bind. Instead of heading to Wales, as was the orignal plan, the remaining Five Fishes head to a shack that Theo knew of. Before dumping the car in a lake, Theo learns from the radio that not only had Rolf reported to Xan, but that the elderly woman he tied up had died. In the shack, Miriam delievers Julian's baby -- a boy, not a girl as Julian had thought. Miriam goes to find more supplies and after she is gone too long Theo goes to investigate. Theo finds Miriam dead, garroted in a nearby house. Theo returns to Julian, but soon after Julian hears a noise outside -- it is Xan. Theo and Xan confront each other and both men fire one shot. The sudden wailing of the baby startles Xan causing him to miss as Rolf had thought the baby would not be born for another month. Theo does not. Theo removes the Coronation Ring from Xan's finger, which Xan has taken to wearing as a symbol of authority, and seems poised to become the new leader of the Council and of Britain--at least temporarily. As the action ends, the other members of the Council are introduced to the baby, and Theo baptises him.