So far, The Coming Race seems to be an exploration of what Bulwer-Lytton believes to be a utopia. Many of the Vril-ya's societal standards conflict with those of Western society. Bulwer-Lytton constantly brings up religion, and how the Vril-ya have a belief system somewhat similar to Agnostic belief. He also dedicated a few pages to discuss the difference between the genders - although I do not agree with all of what he says, I appreciate the fact that he gives the females, the Gy, assertiveness and confidence.
Each characteristic of the Vril-ya leave me wondering which one(s) have furthered their race so far beyond our own. The Coming Race reminds me of the society in Lois Lowry's The Giver and El Dorado in Voltaire's Candide. Each of these fictional societies are considered utopias, but all have stark contrasts of what makes them into utopias. In The Giver, people live in an "ignorance is bliss" mindset, where atrocities occur behind closed doors. The people's apathy allows these atrocities to continue in order to uphold the peace. No one in this society lives in wealth, and they seem happy to keep it this way. In Candide, the people of El Dorado are happy because there are no closed doors - there is complete transparency between the government and the people, and thus there is a mutual trust formed. These utopias bring back the question of knowledge: Is too much of it a bad thing? Can there be too much knowledge? These two societies are polar opposites in trying to answer these questions, and as this book progresses, I hope to find out where the Vril-ya lie on this issue of knowledge as a factor in utopian societies.
I would argue that the Vril-ya society is dystopic but is being masked as a utopia. Even though the Vril-ya society appears perfect to the human perspective, it is simply masking the destructive and ruthless nature of the Vril-ya, thereby making it a dystopia.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the Vril-ya society could be classified as a dystopia. A dystopia, by definition, is a place where everything is bad. The Vril-ya society may not be perfect, but it is certainly not a place where everything is bad. Their society functions smoothly, characterized by peace and prosperity. While they have their flaws – using the power of vril to control people, and being prejudiced towards the races they find to be barbarous – they are by no means living an awful life.
ReplyDeleteI think the better question is whether or not this society is better than ours. I would say that the Vril-Ya society is not better than ours – our society allows for passion and ambition, and allows for great innovation and advancement. We can have great scientific inventions alongside great artistic achievements. The Vril-ya still experience sorrow, this sorrow is just not due to envy, crime, or similar vices. We have great lows alongside great highs.
It is increasingly interesting to think about this masked dystopia from the perspective of both men and women individually. Victorian men might find this society appealing because of the flying virgins that are marked clearly with beautiful jewels. Additionally these virgins are no doubt even more beautiful than the jewels they wear. Mechanically interested men would surely be intrigued by the numerous automatons and mechanical trinkets such as the narrators watch. Victorian women might find this subtly dystopian society appealing because of the independence and importance of the coming race’s women; not only are women completely free to fly where they please in their youth but they actually have some say in who they marry. And, if they don’t appreciate their mate, divorce seems to be a socially acceptable possibility (chapter21). The Age of Innocence comes to mind as one thinks about a Victorian woman reading this book.
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