55 pages • 1 hour read
John WyndhamThe Chrysalids
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1955A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Living Among the Wreckage of a Fallen World
The Chrysalids takes place on the eastern coast of what was once Canada, following the absolute destruction of nuclear war. While this is never explicitly stated in the novel, it is hinted at significantly enough to be assumed. David learns that Waknuk used to be called Labrador and that there is an ocean about 300 miles to the east. He knows little else about the world outside until he starts talking with Uncle Axel, who has sailed around the eastern seaboard and seen the destruction firsthand. Uncle Axel describes the way that Waknuk is surrounded by Fringe lands, followed by Badlands, and then beyond that are forests and fields of unusual and enormous plants. Further still, the land is black and lifeless; this is likely where nuclear bombs were dropped. Uncle Axel notes that if one goes far enough south, people and life exist again as if the bombs created a dead zone that slowly becomes more alive the further away from it a person gets. People who are deemed Blasphemies are sent to live in the Fringes, a land where little grows. Because they are seen as part of God’s punishment, they are condemned to bear the burden of Tribulation in the middle of nowhere.
Wyndham wrote The Chrysalids following WWII and during the Cold War era. His inspiration is likely drawn from musing on what might become of the world if a full-blown nuclear war were to occur. The novel comments on the lack of regard that humans have for themselves and their world, and how destruction often goes hand in hand with extreme discrimination and dehumanization. It furthermore serves as a cautionary tale about longing for and emulating the past, as it is often the case that the world before was fraught with even more serious difficulties. Instead, the book advocates that “we might try being ourselves, and build for the world that is, instead of for one that’s gone” (79).
Each of the characters in the novel is shaped by what they call Tribulation and the lack of connection to their own past. They live without knowing much of the Old People other than vague stories, some remnants of old wreckage, and two books: The Bible and Repentances, a book written after Tribulation that outlines how the way back into God’s favor is through purification and perfection by becoming the “true image.” They believe that the Old People were of this true image, which is illogical because it seems the Old People brought their own destruction upon themselves. Because the people of Waknuk live so close to the place of the explosions, and because they insist upon isolating themselves from the outside world, they live an antiquated existence, shunning technology. Throughout most of the novel, both David and the reader have the impression that the entire world is this way, and it is not until the woman from Sealand reveals herself that they learn there are places much more advanced and civilized. The doctrine that keeps the people of Waknuk clinging to the past rules over and traps them. The Sealand woman feels that people who think-together are superior because there is no need for them to fight. In her view, the Old People ignored the problems they created through their lack of understanding.
The presence of mutations is a source of conflict because of the doctrine that Waknuk follows. Unbeknownst to the people of Waknuk, these mutations are largely the result of nuclear fallout. Even 300 years later, the genes of people, animals, and crops are affected by radiation poisoning, which humanity unleashed upon itself. The people of Waknuk see it as divine punishment, but in reality, it is the result of a massive mistake from long ago. The result is that many people are born with mutations such as extra toes, long limbs, and more. These mutations are often so minor that one would scarcely notice them, but they inspire fear in the people of Waknuk, who do what they think is necessary to keep those who bear them from reproducing. Crops are burned, animals are slaughtered, and humans are sterilized and banished. Forcible sterilization of so-called “inferiors” is a eugenics tactic, drawing a direct link between Waknuk and Nazi Germany in this post-War narrative. David and the others are telepathic, which is also implied to be the result of the nuclear war, as the Sealand woman notes that the Old People were not able to think-together. David is only 10 when he meets Sophie and realizes that mutations are nothing to fear. Unfortunately, most of the other people in his community, including his own parents, are willing to sacrifice everything, even their own children, for the sake of purity.
True Versus False Unity
Unity is a concept within The Chrysalids that comes in both true and false forms. The contrasts between them define the characters’ decisions, particularly David’s decision to leave Waknuk with Petra and Joseph’s decision to turn on both his son and sister-in-law. Waknuk prides itself on representing the true image of God, and its people believe that they must do whatever is necessary to maintain the purity of livestock, crops, and human beings alike. This is all presented under the guise of benefitting humanity and finding their way back into God’s good graces; however, their actions divide people and result in conflict, fear, loss, and destruction. Ultimately, their foolish beliefs lead to their deaths. The people of Waknuk emulate the Old People, which largely explains why they are treading down the same path and making the same mistakes. They are stuck in the past, in a state of permanent and desperate preservation, and they destroy anything that threatens this way of life.
Both Uncle Axel and the Sealand woman, as well as the man in the Fringes, remark on the ways of the Old People and how they were much more flawed than Waknuk’s people think:
Oh, I know people tell tales about how wonderful they were and how wonderful their world was, and how one day we’ll get back again all the things they had. There’s a lot of nonsense mixed up in what they say about them, but even if there’s a lot of truth, too, what’s the good of trying so hard to keep in their tracks? Where are they and their wonderful world now? (78).
The Old People were completely divided aside from one uniting factor: They all seemed to lose their perspective on consequences and empathy. The Sealand woman notes how “it is frightening to think that a whole race could go insane” (179), emphasizing the sometimes-destructive power of being the same. Similarly, the people of Waknuk aim to all be the same and represent one true image, and it is this false unity and sameness that causes the suffering of Sophie, David, the other telepaths, the Fringe people, and many others.
Contrasted with the false unity of Waknuk and the Old People is the true sense of unity felt by the telepaths and Sealand people. Due to their ability to communicate using only their minds, they share a sort of oneness that cannot be experienced by people without this ability: “What comprehension can they have of ‘thinking-together’ so that two minds are able to do what one could not?” (93). David’s unity with the other telepaths is not automatic but grows over the years as they slowly open up to one another. Their first demonstration as a united front is when they decide to keep their shared secret: “It changed our lives by marking our first step in corporate self-preservation, though we understood little of that at the time. What seemed most important just then was the feeling of sharing” (33). The next stage in their solidification is when they introduce themselves by name after Walter’s death. From then on, they become like family and grow to understand each other as nobody else does. This sometimes leads to danger, such as when they refuse to act against Anne when she decides to marry Alan. To them, it would be like killing a part of themselves. The Sealand woman shares sentiments of distaste toward “normal” people and views telepaths as a superior species that is meant to eliminate the old ways. She remarks how people who do not make thought-shapes “live dull, stupid lives compared with think-picture people” (147) and will never understand true community or unity.
David reflects on this difference between himself and most people often but is grateful for it more than anything. It brought him close to the other telepaths and, even more importantly, to the love of his life, Rosalind. In describing their connection, he explains that the word love is insufficient: “[It is] the beginning of seeing with a single eye, loving with a single heart, enjoying with a single joy; when there can be moments of identity and nothing is separate save bodies that long for one another” (166). With this, David demonstrates true love and unity, distinct from the relationships he sees in Waknuk that involve secrets and violence.
The Dangers of Resisting Change
Resistance to change is the central source of conflict in The Chrysalids. It is the reason for discriminating against those deemed blasphemous deviants, the reason for Waknuk’s isolation from the world, and the cause of major catastrophic events. The dangers of this resistance are introduced slowly, beginning with the abuse David suffers at his father’s hand, the panels in his home warning against impurity, and Sophie and her family’s banishment. Through these events, David begins to realize that he lives in a world that despises him, and the doctrines he was taught all his life are not only inaccurate but deeply harmful. Tragic events increase in severity as Aunt Harriet is found murdered, Katherine is captured and tortured, and David, Rosalind, and Petra flee for their lives, pursued by their father. The resistance to change culminates in a great battle between the Fringe people and the people of Waknuk, and both end up dead when the Sealand people intervene and kill them.
Several characters comment on the dangers of resisting change, including Uncle Axel, the man who captures David in the Fringes, and the Sealand woman. Each believes that “life is change” and that trying to oppose the force that is life will only lead to destruction. The man in the Fringes adds that since God is alive, God also changes: “He changes and grows, like everything else that’s alive […] Life is change” (153). The Sealand woman remarks on how the Old People developed to a point that they considered themselves comfortable and perfect, and this was a detrimental way to think: “The living form defies evolution at its peril; if it does not adapt, it will be broken. The idea of completed man is the supreme vanity: the finished image is a sacrilegious myth” (182). Uncle Axel believes that David and the other telepaths represent a significant change in humanity and a step toward its betterment and evolution. His theory is proven correct when the people of Sealand have an advanced society that thrives on unity, togetherness, and progress. Because David and the other telepaths embody change, they clash with Waknuk, a place that fears change more than anything.
Purity, Prejudice, and the Rippling Effects of Fear
The lives and principles of Waknuk are founded on the concept of the true image of God and leading man toward it by weeding out deviation. Even deviations as small as an extra toe are considered infringements on humanity’s safety and progress. Early on, David makes clear how prominent the doctrine of the true image is in his life. His house is filled with panels containing words of warning, such as “THE DEVIL IS THE FATHER OF DEVIATION” (18). David’s father is known as the strictest puritan in Waknuk, and he burns more crops and slaughters more animals than anyone else. His grandfather, Elias Strorm, emigrated from the East when he believed they were becoming too progressive and settled the frontier along with other traditionalists. Thus, the doctrine of purity is something that is cemented into the history of Waknuk and its people. David grows up taking all these words at face value, and it is not until he meets Sophie and sees her harmless extra toe that he realizes the hatred towards Deviations is extreme and unnecessary. His conversations with Uncle Axel further illuminate him, as Uncle Axel points out that the people of Waknuk have no real way of knowing what the true image even is: “A lot of people saying that a thing is so, doesn’t prove it so. I’m telling you that nobody, nobody really knows what is the true image.” (64).
The obsession with purity and the prejudice it creates leads to conflict, death, the telepaths’ eventual banishment, the maltreatment of people with mutations who are sent to the Fringes, and more. Conflicts range in severity from the row between Joseph and Angus Morton when Angus purchases two oversized horses to Harriet’s death, the slaughter of many nameless babies, and eventually, the death of most of Waknuk’s men and women. The escalating violence begins when Sophie and her family are captured and banished, and David is punished for fraternizing with her. When David and the others are captured in the Fringes, the man who captures them remarks on the closed-mindedness of the people of Waknuk: “They stamp on any change; they close the way and keep the type fixed because they’ve got the arrogance to think themselves perfect” (154). While those cast out into the Fringes are stereotyped as wild, they have a keen understanding of Waknuk’s brutal ignorance.
Eventually, the effects of prejudice and the fear of change ripple out and instill fear in David, the other telepaths, and many other people who disagree with the extreme doctrine. Births are handled in a callous and undignified way, kept secret until the baby is certified human and never spoken of if it is not. When Harriet attempts to save her baby, it results in her murder, and David dreams about her lying in the river with her baby. He reflects on the way tiny imperfections like Sophie’s toe or whatever small thing may have been wrong with Harriet’s child can lead to such exaggerated measures: “Just a small difference […] the ‘little thing’, was the first step” (76). In this reflection, David comments on the way tiny implications can grow and spread. As a post-World War II narrative, Wyndham draws a comparison between Waknuk’s discrimination and the way hatred against Jewish people, gay people, Romani people, and other groups spread in Nazi Germany—it began with a badge to mark them and ended with mass genocide.
