On one level, The Chrysalids is the story of a rustic farming community struggling to survive many years following massive global nuclear destruction. These people hold up two sacred texts as absolute truth: the Bible (from the time of the Old People) and Nicholson’s Repentances containing core admonitions: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD, WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT!, THE DEVIL IS THE FATHER OF DEVIATION.
The tale is told by protagonist David Strorm. On the novel’s first page, we listen in as David, a lad of ten, muses on his dream of a city with tall buildings lining streets along a waterfront, with boats in a harbor, all very strange since David admits he has never seen anything resembling such a city in his waking life.
But David comes to realize talking of dreams might have dire consequences since his village of Waknuk judges any eccentricity, any departure from the one, true proscribed way to be and act in this world as a defiance to God demanding the harshest punishment: banishment to the deadly wild fringes outside the village or being put to death, usually a protracted, agonizing death in public to serve as a warning for all to maintain the norm.
Oh, yes, Waknuk goes to great lengths to maintain the norm. KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD. David's father, a village leader, along with officials and the inspector overseeing farming districts will pronounce death to babies having the slightest Deviation (author's caps for emphasis) - abnormalities and deviations being mostly the long-term aftereffects of nuclear fallout, things like six toes or too long arms or a hairless head. Similarly with animals and even crops: any Deviation from the proscribed form and the animal will be put to death or the crops burned.
If the authorities will ruthlessly destroy such outward Deviations, David can imagine what would happen if village leaders discovered he and several of his friends posses a particularly powerful Deviation: they are telepathic, capable of sharing mental images and speaking with one another internally, mind-to-mind. And David's younger sister Petra is born with super, mind-blowing telepathic powers, able to communicate with other telepaths halfway across the globe. Holy Deviation!
Unfortunately, the villagers get wind of the strange abilities of David and the others. Ah! Their small group must escape the clutches of all those intolerant, fundamentalist village bigots, journey miles beyond to lands unknown, to encounter new worlds. Thus, on a second level, we have an exciting young adult adventure, one requiring stamina, endurance, courage and resourcefulness. Do you know a twelve-year-old or teenage booklover? If so, The Chrysalids would make the perfect gift.
The ultimate fate of the adventurous band is for each reader to discover on their own. And since John Wyndham saves the most shocking revelations for the end of his tale, I dare not say too much. Rather, I'll take a quick shift to sketch a number of hypothetical situations to mull over (Hint - all three Cases are riddled with bad thinking and logical fallacies).
Case One: Outer space aliens land. They were able to travel across the universe and reach us since they are not bound by our three dimensions. Nope, no primitive limitations for these advanced beings who have the ability to easily and quickly pop in and out of the fourth dimension. And when they are in the fourth dimension, they become invisible to us mere Earthlings. Anyhow, they tell us their population is over 500 million strong and say they need our food in order to survive. Therefore, recognizing life is “survival of the fittest” and they are obviously of a higher species, on all counts of logic and ethics, the proper solution instantly follows: death to all Earthlings.
Case Two: We’re in the future and the United States needs to immediately take over all Middle-Eastern oil fields. It’s a matter of life and death. Via military superiority, such a takeover can be effected next week, no problem. Again, “survival of the fittest” requires this action.
Case Three: Same dynamics as Case Two, only this time we’re talking the forests of the Amazon. The West needs the forests for economic development, so sorry, too bad for the tribespeople.
We’re well to keep these three case studies in mind as we read The Chrysalids, a philosophic tale that still speaks to us today. And the NYRB edition is the one to go with since it includes an insightful introductory essay by Christopher Priest.
British SF author John Wyndham, 1903-1969
“I shall pray to God to send charity to this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I shall ask Him if is indeed His will that a child should suffer and its soul be damned for a little blemish on the body. And I shall pray Him, too, that the hearts of the self-righteous may be broken.”― John Wyndham, The Chrysalids
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