The Chrysalids By John Wyndham: Character Analysis

Introduction In the novel “The Chrysalids” by John Wyndham, religion is the most important aspect of everyones lives. They believe in the true image of god, and that all else is the devil and must be killed. For most, they would sacrifice their own children for god, yet for some people their children are more important. Mothers love their children over their religion. Some examples covered in this essay are Sophie, Aunt Harriet and The Spider-Man.

First Main Point: Sophie To start off, Sophie was a hidden deviation and her parents did everything they could to give her the best life she could have.
Live by themselves
The Wender family doesn’t go to church or to the parties that happen from time to time in Waknuk. They live in semi-seclusion to avoid the discovery of Sophie’s extra toes.

Flee to the fringe When Alan Ervin found out about Sophie’s deviation they were ready to run away
Second Main Point: Aunt Harriet Secondly, Aunt Harriets’ love for her child drives her to take desperate measures.
Exchange Babies Aunt Harriet had produced a deviant baby. She loved the child and could not stand the thought of it being taken away and sent to the fringe. She went to her sister, Davids’ mother, and asked if she could change babies for one or two days. Her intentions were to get a certificate to prove she has a real baby. Suicide
Aunt Harriets’ plea to her sister did not work. She left David’ house only to be discovered the next day floating in the river. David said, “ Nobody told me how she came to die, but somehow I knew that it had not been by accident” page 75. Aunt harriet may have intentionally jumped into the river to save herself from the thought of living without the child. In conclusion, Aunt Harriet is another good example of love winning out over religion, she did not want to part with her