The first time I read The Chrysalids, I had tentatively made the scary transition from grade eight to grade nine. More frightening was the notion that somehow between grade eight and grade nine, I was supposed to transition from a juvenile reading level to that of a young adult over the summer holiday. I remember that The Chrysalids was the first adult style novel I read in grade nine. I remember that after finishing the book, I knew I had found a genre that was to become a staple in my pantheon of genres for the rest of my life. Up to this point, science fiction for me consisted mainly of TV serials and comics books. Reading The Chrysalids was not only an academic requirement but represented my passport into the more serious world of literature. At the time, I was at a loss as to how to describe this situation. Instantly propelled into a more adult reading method, I found myself overwhelmed by how much I did not know. My fourteen-year-old mind was not ready for this onslaught of rich information; I lacked the attributes of worldly knowledge that acts as an adjuvant to literary interpretation. I was at a loss but not beaten; my Achilles heel was my puerile lack of scholarly insight. I am reminded of the adage by C.S. Lewis: "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown-up." Only through the guidance of my capable English Literature teacher that we (as a class of neophytes) could start on the lifelong journey leading to the love, understanding and interpretation of literature.
As the novel begins, we find ourselves in a post-apocalypse world, Labrador (to be exact). Information about what has happened to the world, leading to its present state, is not forthcoming. Something has happened, but what. Labrador's climatic harshness has now been replaced with a more temperate one, an arable farming community redolent with rustic comfort now represented by the idyllic citizenry of Waknuk. The inhabitants of Waknuk have a less than vague understanding of what happened to the Old Ones, believing that God smote this historically advanced technological society for their sins. God supplicates this new world's denizens with Tribulation, which ultimately leads to a Christian fundamentalist movement bordering if not approaching biblical. Their belief and understanding lie in the balance of perception; God's vision of normalcy: no mutations of any sort. Follow this tenant, and Tribulation remains sated. Mutations are blasphemous and considered outside of God's perfection plan; there can only be one of three options: death, sterilization or banishment to the Fringes (remember Anthony's cornfields).
The narrative is from the viewpoint of David Storm, an eight or nine-year-old boy whose hometown name also happens to be the name of his father's farm. His father carries theological weight in this Christain fundamentalist civilization. Primarily, his function also includes that of the religious leader in this small rural law-abiding, God respecting community that is, in fact, a cog in the larger theocracy of Labrador. Having a long ancestral history in Waknuk, Davis's father, Joseph Storm, interprets his standing in the community as a preacher espoused with the duty of explaining the clarity of laws together with how they fit into the views held by heaven. A self-appointed magistrate whose control sets high standards for the district. When questionable Offences occur (commonly called Deviations), Joseph turns to Government approved arbitrators/inspectors to smooth over disputes concerning Offences. However, not all disputes favour Joseph's finger-pointing, indicating that there is latitude. "Any government that could pass creatures like that is corrupt and immoral," my father announced. " Possibly," admitted the inspector, "but it's still the Government." Joseph Storm: a man whose course is that of a saint whose pulpit constructed of blind obedience tends to wobble on occasion. "The inspector was suddenly tired of it. It's part of my official duty to protect them from harm by fools and bigots, he snapped." The Government's view (as with most governments) is one of order and efficiency and not theological pageantry.
So, David's world, dominated by a maniacal approach to differences, has no choice but to live by these rules: but he doesn't have to believe in them. Cases in point, his stumbling upon a little girl named Sophie. Sophie embodies all that is natural in a growing girl. Except for one thing: she has six toes on each foot. Does this bother David? Does he report her to the authorities (father)? No, it's a relationship he holds dear to his heart, and only by sheer accident is her secret revealed, and obvious consequences wait for her and her family: the Fringes.
Fortunately enough, David has an ally in his clan, an uncle Axel who happens to be world travelled, open-minded and understanding. Axel does not pursue all the same beliefs as David's father, so when he discovers a secret held by David and some other community members, it's safe to say that David's worries, though diminished, still abound. Uncle Axel offers David counsel, advice, and directional motivation. David's remaining time within the hamlet becomes an investment in diversion, masquerading as a normal. His younger sister, Petra, shares a more powerful version of his gift(?). She becomes his responsibility; he must be vigilant with his ward; her youth and lack of understanding could betray the coterie. David's relationship with Rosalind ( a half-cousin who also shares a similar trait as David and Petra) evolves into a passion. Together, they champion their mutation.
David's life is anything but linear. In becoming a young man, his life has been a series of tragedies peppered with some moments of clarity. David has:
- Had unexplainable dreams he has trouble understanding.
- Lost Sophie.
- Witnessed a Fringe raid with a "spider-man" who looks eerily like his father.
- Celebrated the birth of a sister.
- Discovered he could "thought-shapes."
- He is devastated by his aunt Harriet and her missing newborn deviant, has a disparaging talk with old Jacob and Anne's suicide ( also one who shares telepathic ability).
His movements of clarity often come when engaged in conversations with his uncle Axel.
An incident involving the inexperienced Petra finally forces them to flee Waknuk for the Fringes. During this period, Petra telepathically makes contact with a woman from "Zealand." The others dispute her claim; however, they soon discover that Petra's talent is far superior and outdistances their telepathic abilities.
From this point on, the lives of the telepaths take on a frenetic pace. A posse of Norms pursues them at all costs. Their newfound ally from Sealand " suspects that Petra is the most powerful telepath in the world" and is on a course to save them because of Petra's powers. Their sole objective now is to protect Petra long enough to be rescued. The posse has captured two of the telepaths and has tortured them for information. Their Inquisition reveals David, Rosalind and Petra; luckily, Michael (a voluntary deviant plant) hidden amongst the posse can misdirect the mob while keeping David well informed of their actions.
By David's estimate, they must be well into the Fringes territory; this estimate invariably becomes a fact once captured. David learns Gordon's (spider-man) true identity not only is he the leader of his Fringed group but is also his uncle and his father's brother; he maligns, that had it not been for his missing three fingers, he was the elder and rightful heir to Waknuk. After a lengthy discussion, Gordon reveals to David (the machinations of a madman): Rosalind will bear his children! Result: Gordon receives a blow to the jaw to help supplement his plan. David's reward comes as banishment from the encampment while Petra and Rosalind remain captives.
David wakes to Sophie's visual strains, rescuing him, and returning to her cave home. Time and fate have reunited the pair that discrimination separated such a long time ago. David becomes acquainted with the knowledge that Sophie is Gordon's paramour, and Rosalind's presence has added a lofty strain on their relationship. Sophie is sterile and cannot supply Gordon with offspring; Rosalind can. A fit of tempered jealously lends itself to Sophie's next decision: she will rescue Rosalind and Petra, Gordon's prisoners, and in so doing, kills their guard.
There exists a tenuous romantic triangle between the two women and David. Sophie's desire to help is questionable to Rosalind's mind and treated with caution; finally, sensibility over-rules jealousy. Sophie plans to stay where they are: it's unlikely they will suspect so obvious a ploy. The Sealander's (New People) continue their advancement, as do the insensate mob from Waknuk bent on "moral turpitude." What results is a chaotic battle that results in fratricide together with Gordon and Sophie's ultimate death. As the battle rages on, The Sealanders arrive in flying machines and quell the skirmish with a technologically advanced web-like material that suppresses anyone unfortunate enough to be snagged under its diaphanous veil. Many succumb to the veil's lethal effects; however, David, Petra, Rosalind and Michael are freed from its grip. David's group is horrified at the severe cost of their salvation; the Sealander's justify their course of action based on the long term predictability of two doomed, inferior races destined for calamity. Based on the logistics of fuel consumption needed to get safely back to the island of Sealand, Micheal has volunteered to try and rescue Rachel and gallantly return her to Sealand once he has found her.
In a flying machine, that appears to be a potently powerful, advanced type of helicopter. David, Rosalind and Petra are transported to their new beginnings and their future home. As David approaches Sealand, he realizes that he is familiar with the vision before his eyes: once envisioned as a dreamscape is so real that he can not believe his own eyes and asks Rosalind, " Is it real, isn't it? You can see it, too?"
Thoughts, Conclusions, and Considerations
Wyndham creates an unsettling aura of unease by building his story against the narration of David Storm; a coming of age story that sees David's childhood shrinks faster than he matures. The reader develops an intimacy with David's life in an archetypical post-nuclear dystopian village; regression: is a stepping stone to awareness. The reader follows David's struggles and becomes acutely aware of the inherent dangers of being David. From David's point of view, we develop a sense of anxiety at being outed and what hardships will ensue if caution is not practised. His actions alone may jeopardize the entire group. David's story related to us from his perspective reads better than from the third person, where more personal and intimate details may be overlooked. The more he grows, the more he learns, the less he understands the logic of Tribulation.
Wyndham themes, grouped into significant categories, include religion and discrimination as central themes. Minor considerations are loyalty, trust, prejudice, judgment, superstition, conformity, intolerance and loss, to name a few. Wyndham relies on historical events to accentuate the heinous actions of humanity. The obvious one is nuclear; however, Wyndham skillfully reminds us of the Third Reich's “Purity of Race” failed Nazi eugenics programmes (experiments). Nothing Wyndham does in his novel seems to be done by accident. I believe extensive thought went into something as unassuming as choosing names for his character. When one studies the given names, one can see how these names interlock with their personalities. David Storm, biblical, a king, a leader, Storm foreshadows the entire Storm family's events. Sophie, wisdom. Petra, rock-like strength. Rosalind rose-like beauty that attracts David. The village name Waknuk doesn't precisely inspire sanity. Does it?
However, Uncle Axel is my favourite; such an essential pivotal voice of reason. Axel suggests a difficult jump, and his character is indicative of difficult situations. He is David's cornerstone in reasoning and his best friend. Axel's experiences loss, which may explain why his take on life in the community may not reflect the community as a whole.
Axel's losses are monumental; they included his wife's death, an intimate loss and the personal loss of body; he returns a disabled person after a sea voyage. These losses contribute to an alternative view of life in Waknuk and why he is willing to help David. Axel has travelled extensively as a sailor, and exposure to different cultures and beliefs has tempered his demeanour. A magnetic attraction usually leads David to his uncle Axel for answers and explanations, who waxes philosophically about the way of the world(s) as he has seen it. It's easy for Axel to be skeptical, untrusting, and cynical concerning the precepts covered in The Nicholson's Repentance since he already has one foot in the cold waters of heresy.
Nicholson's Repentance is a primer used by the post Tribulation society as a primer devoted solely to the maintenance of and disposal of anything that does not fit into the definition "true image of God." This is the argument used to explain Sophie's existence; the Government's inspectors' discourse with David reminds him of how man is defined in the Repentance; humans must have five toes on each foot. He explains to David that "God does not produce anything imperfect, and that by being imperfect, Sophie proves she is not a creation of God." The inspector also takes the time to ply David with a definition of loyalty (just in case David's are misplaced), "Loyalty is a great virtue, but there is such a thing as misplaced loyalty. One day you will understand the importance of greater loyalty." The inspector implies that while he admires fidelity, however, maintaining the purity laws are more important. The irony is that David is loyal to a fault, as he ultimately demonstrates.
Nickolson's Repentance is what seemly has replaced the Bible in this nightmarish Christian New World Order, interpreted more as laws than holy orders. 'Blessed are the norm" has replaced "Blessed are the poor...Blessed are the those who mourn, and Blessed are the meek." Uncle Axel is David's moral compass and points out to him, "I'm telling you that nobody, nobody really knows what the true image is." He tries to relate to David the concept of what Norms are and how it isn't easy to define what a normalcy model is when norms are created by those who wish to draw parallels to the notion that created said norm. David might not always understand the meaning of what his uncle is trying to tell him, but he trusts him none the less. David's trust is so profound that when he informs him that he wishes to run away from his problems, his uncle warns him of the consequences and that he can rely on his actions as a confidant.
It is impossible not to overlook the ironies interweaved throughout the complex character narratives, some prominent, esoteric, and even subtle. One obvious irony is that which surrounds the daily operation of Waknuk's deviation watch; the constant vigilance championed by Joseph Storm. Joseph Storm, Minister of hate and discrimination, has been rewarded with an abundance of familial mutations, but he is either unaware or in a state of denial. His own bother Gordon suffers from birth mutations. David and Petra are telepaths; Gordon has been sent to the Fringes, ah, but here's the rub, somehow Joseph feels that by theatrically displaying his virtues, this will exonerate him from his association within the knit of his families abominations. Joseph's myopic conditioning makes it impossible to see the trees!
The Old Ones refers to the technological society that thrived before the Tribulation. Their culture is a shrouded cloak of mystery; the citizens of Waknuk have templed their religious tenets on a misconception. Sadly, they worship the foundation that contributed to their present state of misplaced devotion: if only they knew.
Joseph's wife, Emily, demonstrates great indignation when her sister, Harriet, brings a monster into the Storm household, blanketed in the comfort and bliss that her offspring are: normal. There is a double irony here, the afore one just mentioned, and the fact that David and Petra share thought-speak and live undetected in the Storm household due to their deviation's invisibility.
The last example of irony I wish to examine is, in my opinion, the most poignant; the irony which involves the society of Sealanders. The rescue of the telepaths is met with violent confrontation. Those who have studied political history can detect the overtones of Marxism. The Sealander detaches herself from the consequences of her objective: save the telepaths, especially Petra, at all costs. Included in the annihilation are all Fringe and Waknuk participants in the melee. She adopts a guiltless attitude and explains that the people who died were of an inferior species. For all their advancement, their ability to take a mutation, accept it and turn it into an asset makes them no better than the said inferiors they have just wiped out. In fact, they believe their mutated genetic acquisition makes them superior, and their race is the dominant one.
The role of women in this novel is a delicate one. Many would say that women controlled by men are by-standing puppets, subservience only second to motherhood. I'm afraid I have to disagree with that iteration. Wyndham has given us the illusion of subtleness, but collectively they factor in as prominent forces. The entire sequence of events in this novel centres around some form of female activity. Unlike their male counterparts, the women do not need to exhibit their strength by pounding the ground with a stick, form posses, or sermon from the pulpit. Their take is more cerebral. As a little girl, Sophie is very intuitive; her mother strongly influences their family. Emily, David's mother, gives birth to at least two new age humans, a significant contribution to humanity's new order, especially Petra; biological, yes, but of the highest order. Other women have also given birth to telepaths suggesting that women will be responsible for ensuring that this mutation becomes the new norm. The men, Keystoning, dictates that they do not fully understand and lack a viable reason for their action. Anne, a telepath, takes her life bases on firm principles. Petra, the strongest telepath every born, is the very essence of a tremendous change in humanity that is about to take place. If this is not a vital female role, then I am a loss to what is! The Sealander is a woman sent to save Petra, a womanchild, is also revealing. Sophie's strength of character, the need to help the runaways knowing full well what is at stake. Rosalind's, Petra's unselfish mother by proxy, exhibits a sacrificial maturity one would expect from an older, more mature women. Women play a memorable role in this novel, and to say more would just be belabouring a point that is abundantly clear in my mind.
Wyndham's choice of The Chrysalids as the title for his novel is strongly suggestive of change; even if the reader has not read the book, the title implies that some type of change is about to occur. In nature, a butterfly's pupal stage enters a chrysalis phase of development; it metaphors and emerges from its chrysalis as an adult butterfly. The state of transition is closely coupled with its evolution; there can be no butterfly without it: the butterfly struggles but gains the strength to undergo this miracle of nature and emerges as a beautiful work of nature. The term Chrysalids encompasses a dual functionality in this novel; it represents the world as it churns to adapt to the new global transition destined to emerge as something different than what it resembled in its past. Seemingly, the telepaths figuratively undergo the same metamorphosis as the butterfly, emerging as a variant form of the same species; hence The Chrysalids.
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