The Chrysalids   by John Wyndham

Nov 2005, last week.     A Christmas gift from my loving, book-addict Mother.

Hmmm Hmmm. Reading this book brought back memories. My mother read it to us, (the children,) when I was... perhaps eight years old. And it is mostly the way I remembered it. (Including the utterly ridiculous, inappropriate cover art.) It's of the genera, which I call "Good" Science fiction. This mean that it uses an imaginary world, to better show the nature of the humans of Our world.

The imaginary world it's set in, is seemingly one thousand or so years after the most catastrophic nuclear warfare: When society managed to put it's self back together to the degree where it could actually be CALLED society, it was widely separated kingdoms, surrounded by radioactive badlands, (Which meant Death to anyone who traveled there,) where the largest challenge was to keep the population "stable" -meaning in human form, and not mutated in the ways that still happened in two births out of three. It seems that all these kingdoms developed into a theocracy, in which the chief axiom is that "Mutation is evil, and the work of the devil."

And that brings us to the second part of what makes this "Good SF"; The xenophobia, and fear of all things Different, which is inherent in... society. I curse for that I can't remember why now, but just yesterday, I had the following thought:

If some young man were to be obsessed with women, and was caught spying on them, he would be termed a "pervert." Would he not? Now, if some young man, With a visible disability, or unsightly physical defect were caught in the same situation, I think at least eight times out of ten, he would be termed a "Monster." The revulsion at his behavior would be much stronger, simply because he is disfigured.

And indeed, the culture of this imaginary world has the greatest fear, and hatred of all that is not "normal." They have a certain amount of justification, that's true. There's something to be gained by society, by making sure that all the people in it are able to walk, and communicate, and grow up having two arms of the same length with working hands at the end of each. But they take things too far, and will not allow ANY deviation. And the only way to enforce this, is to make everyone believe that it's the necessary truth. And Religion, as always, is the best way of making the masses understand. "Accursed me the Mutant" and "Any deviation is Sin!" is something that every single person learns from the youngest age.

Also, I liked the way (near the end of the book,) it was explained that in many ways, such behavior, by society as an entire entity, is only to be expected. The point was made by a mutant, from a society of mutants. But They looked at it as EVOLUTION, and not deviation. They saw that Humanity was not at it's very peak, and could not improve in any direction at all. But, If society is taken as a cohesive organism, it has to fight against this change. Such a change means the END of the society. It will be usurped by the new, emerging one. So although it's pitiful, and against the wishes of every kind-hearted person, there is no avoiding that a society will repress, and oppress every improvement of it's people, simply because it's Change.

Many books of this sort, with such themes, portray religion as something that was useful in it's time, but in the final, truly advanced and enlightened society, it's something that is simply no longer necessary; One possibly way is that people can clearly SEE how to be good, without needing to be Told how by religion. I mention this, because interestingly, in this book, it's different. The worth, meaning, and importance of religion as a whole is not questioned at all. It's just pointed out that the priests, and society as a whole, were mistakened, in thinking that they were the Infallible, Chosen of God. Their fault was in thinking that they were so refined, and so devout, that they could do nothing wrong. That, and believing that they were made so precisely in the image of God, as to be able to make decisions For God. (And, of course, to keep that image Pure, exact, and to punish and destroy anything that grew in any way Other than what God surely intended.)

The obvious danger being, that they've never seen anyone with red hair, in their corner of the world. And Left-handed people... No one is completely sure, but the general feeling, is that they Must be rather Evil. We can be shocked at such thinking. But Was it not only two hundred years ago, in OUR very own world, and not anywhere make belive, where Left-Handedness was not allowed? The left hand was the hand of the devil. And any student caught writing with the hand of the devil would be severely Punished. What mad fear we humans live in. Any difference looks so terrible to us!

One thing I would like to say about the writing though; I didn't feel that the women in this were... convincing personalities. I commend the author for trying. And I doubt that I could do a job anything near better, (probably not even as good.) But it feels to me like a man's idea of how a woman would think. This is most clear on the subject of sterility. (You see, to be the slightest bit "humane," all deformed children are made sterile, and then sent into the badlands: the unstable areas between the normal land, and the radioactive, barren, badlands. This is instead of just killing them outright.) And although I can't deny the possibility of a woman feeling that her life is over, and she has nothing at all to live for, because she can't have any children, -it feels to me that in this case in the book, it's a man writing about how he guesses a woman would feel, -without having deep insights to many women's thoughts.

Also, I don't know if it was an oversight on the author's part, or a degree of male chauvinism which he wanted to show in his society. But... the fact remains, that it seems as if it is only the Women who are sterilized, before being exiled. Now, it's just a fact of human anatomy, that it's much, MUCH simpler to make a man infertile than a woman. So...like I said, I don't know if this detail was overlooked, or if it was intended to be there, to show a sexist bias in the society.

Still though, it's well written, (barring the constructed feelings of feminine characters,) and a very good tale. It flows, is exciting, troubling, and engaging. Good good good.