There is an array of characters in ‘The Chrysalids’ who highlight the repressiveness of the society of Waknuks religious beliefs. Firstly, there is the character of Joseph Strorm, David’s father. Joseph is a magistrate in Waknuk and habitually gives sermons in church. He is considered a leading figure and his raison d’étre seems to be to make sure that every plant, animal, and person keeps strictly to the ‘true image’ with a strict brutality which sends shivers down my spine. He is extremely narrow minded, to the extent that towards the end of the novel, he and an army of local militia set out to destroy David, his own son. This type of behaviour is to me, John Wyndham saying that religion can distort people’s views on things and if this way of religious living did not exist then atrocities such as this may not happen in Waknuk. Although it is the society of Waknuks fault that people are forced to do these things, Joseph Strorm is a severe case. Even by Waknuks standards, he is decidedly irrational. To me, Joseph Strorm symbolises everything that is wrong with Waknuks society as he uses religion as grounds to persecute the innocent and the vulnerable. God is used as justification for immoral conduct. In my opinion, this is a warning from the author, saying that if widespread narrow mindedness in our religious beliefs occurs then we may be forced to live in a society which resembles the persecution and brutality of Waknuks society.
On the other hand is the character of David Strorm. The story being told from his point of view is highly effective as it makes me more empathetic towards David. I am brought into David’s mind and I fear for him when he is in danger. David’s religious views are almost programmed into him as a child. His first reading lessons from his father were from plaques on the wall of their home with several religious messages such as:
“ONLY THE IMAGE OF GOD IS MAN.”
And:
“THE DEVIL IS THE FATHER OF DEVIATION.”
This demonstrates to me, that as a child David had no option in what to believe, and he never feels the need to question this until the day he meets Sophie. Sophie is a deviant but this does not register with David until sometime after they meet, when he is thinking about some of his teachings:
“And any creature that shall seem to be human, but is not formed thus is not human. It is neither man nor woman. It is a blasphemy against the true Image of God, and hateful in the sight of God.’”
It is then that it becomes clear to David that Sophie deviates, but still David does not see Sophie as a horrible creature and he does not understand how God could find her in any way ‘hateful’. It seems to me that from then on David finds it highly difficult to reconcile the moral codes of his society with his conscience, thus showing me that although religious morals are supposed to be codes to live by, some are more harmful than good.
David has always had a recurring dream. John Wyndham makes obvious references to twentieth century life in these dreams. David sees cars and aeroplanes in his dreams although he does not know what these are. David is dreaming about the society of today. David’s dreams of this place are often incredibly detailed:
“lights lay like strings of glow worms along the shore”
This simile shows me the descriptiveness of David’s dreams. There is also alliteration of ‘l’, and this seems to imitate the sounds of waves lapping against the shore, and brings me into his dream. David obviously thinks that this city is the epitome of perfection. He says that the city is:
“clustered on the curve of a big blue bay”
Here there is alliteration of ‘c’ and ‘b’. This is very soft alliteration and gives me a very soothing and gentle impression of the city. Towards the end of the novel, David and some of the others in the group are rescued by the ‘Sealand’ woman. I am given the impression that it has been ‘Sealand’ David has been dreaming of. ‘Sealand’ is portrayed as a utopian society in comparison with the complete dystopian society of Waknuk. Waknuk is regressive, whereas ‘Sealand’ is progressive. ‘Sealand’ people are open minded in their views, they understand that things must change and evolve, whereas Waknuk people are terrified of change. This is ultimately their downfall. David is open minded enough to see this and he rightly grasps his chance at freedom. Because I have been brought into Davids mind I am glad for him and sincerely hope that he will be happy in his new Sealand home, however, I think he will be disappointed with what he finds. Sealand is Wyndham’s way of illustrating the society of the twentieth Century. The twentieth Century is far from free from prejudice and persecution as he had always dreamed it would be, and ultimately if he is seeking perfection, wherever he looks he is going to be disappointed. This all gives me the impression that David desires to go to a place where religion is not forced upon people. David sees religion as a negative thing as it can be if people use religion in the wrong way, to persecute and isolate people.
However, if Joseph Strorm is on the extreme right wing of religion and David Strorm is unsure, then David’s Uncle Axel is most certainly on the left wing of religion. He is considered by David to be his best friend and Axel teaches David a great deal.
Axel acts as a protector of David during his youth. When an incident occurs that threatens the group’s security, he does everything in his power to protect his nephew, which leads to him murdering a boy. Although this is ultimately wrong, the rules seem to bend because I feel for David so strongly. Therefore, there seems to be a strange sort of justice surrounding the events of the murder. Axel is in my opinion the voice of Wyndham in the novel, as his views seem to fit with the general message conveyed throughout. He shows me that although religion is always very important, it should not be taken to extremes, beliefs have to be partnered with general open mindedness, or religion can go too far.
Although Wyndham mainly studies religion through his intelligent portrayal of characters, he also does it through various language techniques. In one of Axel and David’s conversations, David refers to ‘tribulation’. Axel gets quite angry and refers to this as:
“a rusted mirror, reflecting nothing.”
This metaphor refers to the emptiness of the ‘preacher words’. I believe that he is saying how the preachers do not know what happened so they give it a term which is highly vague. Moreover, the lexical choice of the word ‘rusted’ gives me the impression that the religion followed by the people of Waknuk is old and dilapidated, almost to the extent of it entirely falling apart. This seems to echo the general theme in the book, that if religion goes too far it will crumble and cause anguish and torment.
This is continued when Axel says:
“souls are just counters for churches to collect, all the same value, like nails.”
In this thought provoking metaphor Axel compares souls to nails which seems to devalue them. He is also saying, to me, that everyone is the same, whether they ‘deviate’ or keep to the ‘true image’ as souls all have the same value, we are all worth the same. This seems to be a general message of the book, everyone is the same inside. In addition, the word choice of ‘nails’ conveys, to me, an image of religion being something sharp and painful, which is another of Wyndham’s messages throughout.
In conclusion, through clever language techniques such as metaphor, simile, alliteration and paradox and in particular highly intelligent and effective portrayals of characters, John Wyndham produces a study of religion which makes me ponder the ways of the world by taking a journey into one persons mind and shows whether you believe or not, religion will always be a part of life.
