The Chrysalids
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- Chrysalids redirects here, for the term in biology see chrysalis.
| The Chrysalids (US: Re-birth) | |
| Author | John Wyndham |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Spencer Wilson |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
| Publication date | 1955 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0140013083 |
The Chrysalids (U.S. title: Re-Birth) is a science fiction novel by John Wyndham, first published in 1955. It is the least typical of Wyndham's major novels, but is regarded by some people as his best.[1]
The novel has been adapted for radio by the BBC and also into a play by David Harrower for Shell Connections.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
A few thousand years in the future post-apocalypse rural Labrador has become a warmer and more hospitable place than it is at present. The inhabitants of Labrador have vague historical recollections of "The Old People", a technologically advanced civilization which existed long ago and which they believe was destroyed when God sent "Tribulation" to the world to punish their forebears' sins. The society that has survived in Labrador is loosely reminiscent of the American frontier of about the 18th century The inhabitants practice a form of fundamentalist Christianity with post-apocalyptic prohibitions. They believe that in order to follow God's word and prevent another Tribulation, they need to preserve absolute normality among the surviving humans, plants and animals. Genetic invariance has been elevated to the highest religious principle, and humans with even minor mutations are considered "Blasphemies" and the handiwork of the Devil. Individuals not conforming to a strict physical norm are either killed or sterilized and banished to the Fringes, a forbidden area still rife with animal and plant mutations. Arguments occur over the keeping of a tailless cat or the possession of oversize horses. These are deemed by the government to be legitimate breeds either preexisting or achieved through conventional breeding. The government's position is considered both cynical and heretical by the orthodox frontier community.
The inland rural settlement of Waknuk is a frontier farming community, populated with hardy and pious individuals intent on reclaiming land from the Fringes. Ten-year-old David Strorm, the son of Waknuk's zealous religious patriarch, has inexplicably vivid dreams of brightly lit cities and horseless carts that are at odds with his pre-industrial experience. Despite David's rigorous religious training, he befriends Sophie, a girl carefully concealing the fact that she has six toes on each foot. With the nonchalance of childhood David keeps her secret. The subsequent discovery of Sophie's mutation and her family's attempted flight causes David to wonder at the brutal persecution of human "Blasphemies" and the ritual culling of animal and plant "Deviations". David and a few others of his generation harbor their own invisible mutation: they have strong telepathic abilities. David begins to question why all who are different must be banished or killed. As they mature, David and his fellow telepaths realize that their unusual mutation would be considered a "blasphemy" and they carefully conceal their abilities. That their mutation cannot be directly detected allows their unusual abilities to remain undiscovered for a time. Eventually the group is exposed and David, his half-cousin Rosalind and younger sister Petra flee to the Fringes. Through the unusually strong telepathic abilities of Petra they make contact with a more advanced society in distant "Sealand". David, Rosalind and Petra elude their would-be captors and are rescued by the Sealand mission to discover the source of Petra's telepathic transmissions.
Though the nature of "Tribulation" is not explicitly stated, it is implied that it was a nuclear holocaust, both by the mutations, and by the stories of sailors who report blackened, glassy wastes to the southwest where the remains of faintly glowing cities can be seen. Sailors venturing too close to these ruins experience symptoms consistent with radiation sickness. A woman from Sealand, a character with evident knowledge of the Old People's technology, mentions "the power of gods in the hands of children".
[edit] Main Characters
- David Strorm: The narrator of the story, David is one of a small group of youngsters who can communicate with each other via telepathy. However, their community's theological prejudice against anyone who is abnormal means he and the others must keep their abilities carefully hidden.
- Sophie Wender: A young girl born with six toes on each foot, Sophie lives with her parents in an isolated cottage, her deviation from the "norm" keeping her from associating with other children.
- Joseph Strorm: Joseph is the father of David and Petra. He is deeply religious and and unyielding on the subject of mutations and blasphemy, punishing David severely for an unintentionally blasphemous remark about "needing an extra hand" to apply a bandage.
- Uncle Axel: Uncle Axel, a widely traveled former sailor, is open minded and willing to question conventional religious precepts. Upon discovering David's telepathy, he counsels reticence and extracts a promise that David take great care not to allow others to learn of his mutation.
- Petra Strorm: Petra is the youngest of the Strorm children and the group of telepaths discovers her ability is extraordinarily strong and difficult to resist, placing the group at greater risk of discovery.
- Rosalind Morton: The daughter of David and Petra's half-Uncle Angus (who owns the neighbouring farm) Rosalind is David's closest friend among the group of telepaths.
- The Sealand woman: The Sealand woman and her people are from a more advanced society where telepathic ability, while not ubiquitous, is far more common and is accepted, promoted and studied.
[edit] Context within Wyndham's work
While Wyndham tells this story with his characteristic dry humour, The Chrysalids differs from the rest of his major novels. While most are set in a mid twentieth century English middle-class background, The Chrysalids is set in a future society, drawn in some detail. It is also more of a bildungsroman than most of his novels.
[edit] Allusions/references to actual geography
The inland village of Waknuk (Wabush) is revealed to be in southwestern Labrador. Labrador has become a much warmer place in the fictional future, with large tracts of arable land. Rigo (Rigolet) is the capital of Labrador, a fairly large river town near the east coast. The port of Lark (Lark Harbor) is mentioned as a waypoint on the west coast of the island of Newf (Newfoundland) where sailors may obtain provisions.
A large island to the northeast (Greenland) is rumored to be inhabited by an amazonian culture with bizarre habits. Northern islands are described as being cold and inhabited chiefly by birds and sea animals. Uncle Axel, a former sailor, has traveled far to the south of Labrador, and from a distance seen the "Black Coasts", where there are areas with what look like ruins of the old civilization.
Later, the existence of geographic areas far less affected by the nuclear exchange and fallout is established, particularly Sealand (New Zealand). Sealand is home to a socially and technologically advanced society where telepathy is the norm and is encouraged and developed as a survival advantage.
[edit] Literary significance
The Chrysalids is widely regarded as a science fiction classic, but some criticisms have been made. There is critical disagreement regarding whether the intervention of the Sealand culture at the end of the novel should be considered a deus ex machina.[citation needed]
Critics have disagreed with Wyndham's implication that two differently evolved species must necessarily fight to the death.[citation needed] Wyndham justifies this in a lengthy speech from the Sealand woman near the end of the novel, but her reasoning seems at odds with the implicit plea for tolerance in the earlier part of the novel. This implication also exists in The Kraken Wakes and The Midwich Cuckoos.
[edit] The Chrysalids in popular culture
The song "Crown of Creation" by Jefferson Airplane was inspired by the novel. Its title and lyrics are drawn from the text and plot. One example lifted almost verbatim from the text reflects a philosophical explanation by the Sealand woman: "But life is change, that is how it differs from rocks, change is its very nature." This line is rendered in the lyrics as "Life is change - How it differs from the rocks."
[edit] References
- ^ The Chrysalids - Novel. bbc.co.uk (November 7, 2001).
[edit] External links
- BBC H2G2 Synopsis/Analysis of The Chrysalids
- SciFi.com Review of The Chrysalids
- SFReview of The Chrysalids
- A Disposable Lit Review of The Chrysalids
- Quotes From The Chrysalids
- Lyrics of "Crown of Creation"
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