The Chrysalids Essay by Kelvin Wirmantio - How doe fear affect the social interactions in The Chrysalids?
Throughout the Chrysalids, the society presented is greatly shaped by the oppressive nature of its people alongside their religious beliefs. The combination of the two creates a society where both fear and religion are the forces at play that govern the society. John Wyndham, author of The Chrysalids, depicts a society that tries to a perfect by all means necessary; even if the means are seen as unethical from an unbiased point of view. Such forces at play heavily influences the many relationships presented in the novel, relationships between a parent and child, husband and wife and among certain races presented in the society serving only as some of the many examples.
The standards and regulations of the society presented in The Chrysalids clearly revolves around the religious foundation it was built on and this also creates the extremist point of views and means its people are willing to exercise to protect their society; an example would be its non-deviational standard.
First edition hardback cover
English: Chrysalids and larvae of butterflies from...
BBC Classic Radio Sci-Fi Audio CD Cover 2007Deviations are organisms that do not pertain physically to their race, and unfortunately, the people of Waknuk aren't particularly fond of them. While offences, non-human deviations, are burnt to eradicate any possibility of reproduction, blasphemies, human deviations, are banished into the Fringes. Having this standard in place causes problems for the social interactions with the people in The Chrysalids, such as the relationship between a parent and child. As stated, Parents in the Chrysalids have very poor judgment and would very much prefer to prioritize in keeping to these standards much rather than caring for their child. Acting in such a manner eradicates any emotional attachment and trust between a parent and child, since deviational children in The Chrysalids feel secluded from their parents, hurt that they cannot even seek help from them, given their merciless nature, like the relationship between Joseph and David Strorm. Parents in the Chrysalids also have to send off their children to the Fringes or be prudent to send off their children if they grow to become deviants. This either eradicates any form of communication since birth, as with Gordon and Elias Strorm, or it distances the two since they both would fear of separation and the emotional trauma afterwards if they were to bond.
The relationships affected by this force aren't only between the parents and their children, but among the parents as well. Husbands and wives in The Chrysalids are also faced with several challenges to overcome given the stringent regulations and standards put in place, trust issues being one of them. Another immoral standard set in the society would be the three deviant rule. If wives were to conceive a total of three deviants, husbands have the option to send the baby alongside the wife to the Fringes. This put the wives on edge since they cannot predict what the husbands will do, since most husbands only want wives to procreate, not because they truly love them. Aunt Harriet's situation in the book shows to be quite similar in this case. Harriet was facing possible banishment in the book given her third deviational child and seeks help from her sister, David's mother. Though when turned down, she couldn't bear what her husband would do, so she claimed her own life. Fear of their religion induces husbands to act authoritatively and this induces husbands to act unpredictably and irrationally to their wives which ultimately causes the wives to fear for their husbands.
Relationships don't only suffer throughout the novel, they also form and prosper, as the relationships between the telepaths. The fear induced by the standards of the society that had created this ongoing conflict between the deviations and the general population had ultimately caused the deviants to find refuge in each other, relying on each other for any kind of support. Fear had driven the telepaths into hiding from the general population, but it had helped the telepaths form relationships with each other and prosper as a group; and not only so, because of it, the telepaths were able to find a new home in Sealand, where all its citizens are telepaths. They were able to feel welcomed and normal in their new society compared to the way they felt at Waknuk.
The eminent force of fear present in the Chrysalids had influenced a great deal of the social aspect of Waknuk. Having destroyed families, creating a line of religious extremists and a corrupt society, it had also served as a positive influence that had helped the formation of a new relationship, a relationship among the deviations. Much of the tension and suspense that had brought out the best potential in the book was all because of the many problems fear had caused to the social aspect of the society presented in The Chrysalids, keeping its readers on edge from the beginning all the way to the end.