The Chrysalids
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- Chrysalids redirects here, for the term in biology see chrysalis.
| Author | John Wyndham |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Michael Joseph |
| Released | 1955 |
The Chrysalids (U.S. title: Re-Birth) is a science fiction novel (ISBN 0-7487-4286-7) by John Wyndham, first published in 1955. It is the least typical of Wyndham's major novels, but is often, along with The Day of the Triffids, cited as his best.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
A nuclear holocaust has decimated the Earth's population, creating huge climatic change and high rates of mutation. Rural Labrador, Canada has become a warmer and more hospitable place and gained a stable human population. South of Labrador sailors report blackened, glassy wastes, faintly glowing ruins and a complete absence of life. Radiation sickness imperils those who stray too close. The inhabitants of Labrador have vague memories of "The Old People", a technologically advanced civilization which existed long before them and which they believe was destroyed when God sent "Tribulation" to the world to punish their forbearer's sins. The society that has survived in the inland village of Waknuk and coastal Labrador is loosely reminiscent of the American frontier of the 18th century. The local 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.
Ten year old David Strorm, the son of Waknuk's zealous religious patriarch, has inexplicably vivid dreams of brightly lit cities and horseless carts. These are quite at odds with his pre-industrial understanding. Despite David's rigorous religious training, he befriends Sophie; a young 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 them to remain undiscovered for a time. Eventually the group is exposed and David, his 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 (New Zealand). Towards the end of the novel, the protagonists' discussion with the Sealand woman becomes more philosophical. The Sealand culture is depicted as having a positive view of human evolution. A Sealand woman explains that in her own society, telepathy is considered normal and those born without such abilities are pitied rather than persecuted. 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.
[edit] Context within Wyndham's work
While Wyndham tells this story with his characteristic dry humour, The Chrysalids differs from the rest of Wyndham's major novels. While most are set in a contemporary English middle-class background, The Chrysalids is set in a strongly religious, pre-industrial agrarian culture.
[edit] Future Geography
The village of Waknuk is revealed to be part of a region called Labrador, near the island of Newf, or Newfoundland. Labrador has become a much warmer place between our time and the fictional future, with large tracts of arable land. There is mention of Rigo (possibly Rigolet), the capital of Labrador, a fairly large town on the east coast. The majority of the story takes place in the rural frontier region and the areas just beyond that are known as the Fringes.
Neighboring areas are mentioned only in passing. Newf is known to be inhabited by a bizarre people, and so is Greenland. Northern islands are mentioned as being cold and inhabited chiefly by sea birds. Uncle Axel, a former sailor, has traveled south of Labrador, and from a distance seen the "Black Coasts", where there are areas with what look like ruins of the old civilization. Uncle Axel informs David that in contrast to the claims established orthodoxy; the areas of greater mutation are giving way to areas of less mutation.
Later, the existence of geographic areas not particularly affected by the nuclear devastation is established, particularly "Sealand" (as it is normally referred to in the novel but evidently New Zealand). Being far removed from where all the main nuclear fallout occurred, Sealand has a much more advanced society and has become a natural refuge for those such as David and his friends who have chanced to develop useful mutations. In particular, Sealand is home to a society where telepathy is the norm and is encouraged and developed as a survival advantage. There is some suggestion, however, that the Sealand society is itself intolerant, perhaps in ways ironically opposite of the intolerances of the cruder Labradorean society.
[edit] Political commentary
Wyndham stated in interviews that the setting of the novel was a world devastated by "atomic bombs." However The Chrysalids can primarily be interpreted as an attack on religious fundamentalism.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
While the novel is widely regarded as a science fiction classic, some criticisms have been made (see the reviews below). Structurally, it is to some extent two stories linked together: the Sophie episode, which demonstrates the repressive and intolerant nature of Labrador society, and the emergence of the greater community of telepaths. The intervention of the Sealand people at the end could also be considered a deus ex machina.
Critics have disagreed with Wyndham's claim that two differently evolved species must necessarily fight to the death. Wyndam justifies this in a lengthy speech from the Sealand woman near the end of the novel, but this seems at odds with the implicit plea for tolerance in the earlier part of the novel. (He also makes this claim in The Kraken Wakes and The Midwich Cuckoos.)
The term "chrysalids" is the plural of "chrysalis", a stage in the development of a butterfly. It refers metaphorically to transformation into something greater, in this case the metamorphosis of David and his friends into a new human species.
[edit] Trivia
- The novel has been adapted for radio by the BBC.
- It has also been adapted into a play by David Harrower for Shell Connections.
- The song Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane was inspired by the novel. Its title and many of its lyrics are drawn from the book and reflect a philosophical explanation by the Sealand woman: "But life is change, that is how it differs from rocks, change is its very nature."
[edit] External links
| John Wyndham |
|---|
| Bibliography |
| Novels: |
| Foul Play Suspected · The Secret People · Stowaway To Mars · The Day of the Triffids · The Kraken Wakes · The Chrysalids · The Midwich Cuckoos · The Outward Urge · Trouble with Lichen · Chocky · Web |
| Collections: |
| Jizzle · The Seeds of Time · Tales of Gooseflesh and Laughter · Consider Her Ways and Others · The Infinite Moment · Sleepers of Mars · The Best of John Wyndham · Wanderers of Time · Exiles on Asperus · No Place like Earth |
| Filmography |
| Feature films: The Day of the Triffids (1962 film) · Village of the Damned (1960 film) · Village of the Damned (1995 film) |
| Radio |
| Radio adaptations: The Day of the Triffids (radio) · The Chrysalids (radio) |
| Television |
| TV adaptations: The Day of the Triffids (TV series) · Chocky (TV series) · Random Quest |
