The Chrysalids

“And God created man in His own image. And God decreed that man should have one body, one head, two arms and two legs: that each arm should be jointed in two places and end in one hand...and each leg shall be jointed twice and have one foot, and each foot five toes... 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.” (10, 11, 12) 

When I first read this passage, I felt an offense, a horrible feeling. I wondered how a society could live by these rules and think that this was what God intended for the world. I was curious whether this was actually written in a modern book or not. I couldn’t help think that these indications of ultimate perfection was because these citizens didn’t know anything about God or religion. 

The society prides themselves in being religious and worthy of God but even though they only have limited books to go by; Repentances and the Bible, the Bible should’ve been resourceful enough for them to understand that their path was far from God’s will,  because unlike them, God accepts everyone and loves everyone equally, which makes the passage nonsense. 

Furthermore, there is the fact that these laws defy science in the sense that science indicated that deformity is due to genetic abnormality, for example, six toes, would by our logical measure still be considered man or woman. Also, there are thousands of illnesses and diseases, that you may be born with or could later suffer from, that may disregard the laws. One may be born with no arms or a broken foot and such accidents are neither the fault of the child nor the mother. These occurrences are still in the image of God and their physical traits happened for unknown reasons, but perhaps fate. The mere fact that the society doesn’t understand this or understand God through the Bible indicates that they do not take seriously God’s creation. 

This passage helped me realize what I was to expect of the characters in this book. All I thought of was that they were closed-minded. The way Wyndham conveyed this dramatic and controversial twist is enticing and makes readers think. People shouldn’t be marked against their physical capabilities,  instead their actions dictate who they are on the inside.