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Erewhon

Erewhon, or Over the Range is a novel by Samuel Butler, published anonymously in 1872. The title is also the name of a country, supposedly discovered by the protagonist. In the novel, it is not revealed in which part of the world Erewhon is, but it is clear that it is a fictional country. Butler meant the title to be read as the word Nowhere backwards, even though the letters "h" and "w" are transposed. It is likely that he did this to protect himself from accusations of being unpatriotic, although Erewhon is obviously a satire of Victorian society. Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Erewhon Hudibras, see Samuel Butler (poet). ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the literary concept. ... Erewhon Hudibras, see Samuel Butler (poet). ... Year 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Map of the Land of Oz, the fictional country in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Map of the fictional island of Sodor used in the Thomas the Tank Engine stories Fictitious countries used in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four A guidebook produced about the fictional country Molvanîa... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ...

The first few chapters of the novel, dealing with the discovery of Erewhon, are in fact based on Butler's own experiences in New Zealand where, as a young man, he worked as a sheep farmer for about four years (1860-1864) and explored parts of the interior of the South Island. (One of the country's largest sheep farms, located near where Butler lived, is named "Erewhon" in his honour. It is near Mesopotamia Station, another large sheep farm). “Sheep” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Farmer (disambiguation). ... 1860 is the leap year starting on Sunday. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The South Island The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. ...

Content

The greater part of the book consists of a description of Erewhon. The nature of this nation is intended to be ambiguous. At first glance, Erewhon appears to be a utopia, yet it soon becomes clear that this is far from the case. Yet for all the failings of Erewhon, it is also clearly not a dystopia, an undesirable society such as that depicted by George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. As a satirical utopia, Erewhon has sometimes been compared to Gulliver's Travels (1726), a classic novel by Jonathan Swift; the image of utopia in this latter case also bears strong parallels with the self-view of the British Empire at the time. For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... This article is about the philosophical concept and literary form. ... Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 [1] [2] – 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ... For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... First Edition of Gullivers Travels Gullivers Travels (1726, amended 1735), officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. ... Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (November 30, 1667 – October 19, 1745) was an Irish cleric, satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for Whigs then for Tories), and poet, famous for works like Gullivers Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapiers Letters, The Battle of the Books, and... For other uses, see Utopia (disambiguation). ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ...

Erewhon satirizes various aspects of Victorian society, including criminal punishment, religion and anthropocentrism. For example, according to Erewhonian law, offenders are treated as if they were ill whilst ill people are looked upon as criminals. Another feature of Erewhon is the absence of machines; this is due to the widely shared perception by the Erewhonians that they are potentially dangerous. This last aspect of Erewhon reveals the influence of Charles Darwin's evolution theory; Butler had read The Origin of Species soon after it was published in 1859. Anthropocentrism (Greek άνθρωπος, anthropos, human, κέντρον, kentron, center), or the human-centered principle, refers to the idea that humanity must always remain the central concern for humans. ... For other people of the same surname, and places and things named after Charles Darwin, see Darwin. ... Charles Darwins Origin of Species (publ. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The Book of Machines

The three chapters of Erewhon that make up "The Book of the Machines" were developed from a number of articles that Butler had contributed to a local periodical while in New Zealand. Butler was the first to write about the possibility that machines develop consciousness. To him it was a joke, but today scientists and philosophers are seriously debating whether computers and robots could develop the same kind of intelligence (artificial intelligence, AI) and consciousness (artificial life) as human beings. It is also a popular theme in science-fiction novels and movies; some raise the same question (Dune's Butlerian Jihad, for example), while others wonder what the relationship between human beings and machines with artificial intelligence would be and whether AI is desirable at all. AI redirects here. ... Artificial Life, (commonly Alife or alife) is a field of study and art form that examines systems related to life, its processes and its evolution through simulations using computer models, robotics, and biochemistry [1] (called soft, hard, and wet approaches respectively[2]). Artificial life complements traditional Biology by trying to... The fictional Dune universe, or Duniverse, is the political, scientific, and social setting of author Frank Herberts six-book Dune series of science fantasy novels. ... The Butlerian Jihad is an epic turning point in the back-story of Frank Herberts fictional Dune universe. ...

The rest of the book

Widely shared among the people of Erewhon is the belief that children choose to be born. Many other curious notions abound in Erewhon.

In the chapter, "Musical Banks", Butler compares the practice of the cathedral to that of banks in an attack on the religious hypocrisy of his time.

In the chapter, Butler mentions that these banks have their own currency, which is not honored by the other banks. This refers to an old practice of coinage. During the age when the whole point of money was that it was made of precious metal, there was frequent trimming or shaving of coins once they were released to the public, even though people were expected to accept the diminished coins at their face value. These bits were sold under the counter to an assayer. There was also widespread counterfeiting. Banks of that era were few and quite magnificent. An assayer is a person who tests ores and minerals and analyzes them to determine their value and composition. ...

It would not do for churches to be implicated in these activities. Thus, churches actually had money-changing tables at which each coin would be examined separately and a token of actual worth given to the layperson so that he or she could be seen by the other parishioners as putting money in the basket during that part of the service. These tokens had religious images upon them; this also prevented pilferage. The money-changing was not done at the same time as the service itself. (Some distinguished Protestant churches in the US had this practice in the 19th century, besides the Church of England and the Presbyterian Church of Scotland). The practice goes back to the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, but then it was done for the different reason — that money offered to the temple did not have the images of pagan gods on it. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Church of England logo since 1998 The Church of England is the officially established Christian church[1] in England, and acts as the mother and senior branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as well as a founding member of the Porvoo Communion. ... Presbyterianism is part of the Reformed churches family of denominations of Christian Protestantism based on the teachings of John Calvin which traces its institutional roots to the Scottish Reformation, especially as led by John Knox. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash and meaning literally The Holy House) was located on the Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) in the old city of Jerusalem. ...

Characters

• Higgs - The narrator who conveys to us the nature of Erewhonian society
• Chowbok (Kahabuka) - Higgs' guide into the mountains; he is a native who greatly fears the Erewhonians. He eventually abandons Higgs.
• Yram - The daughter of Higgs' jailor who takes care of him when he first enters Erewhon. Her name is Mary spelled backwards.
• Senoj Nosnibor - Higgs' host after he is released from prison; he hopes that Higgs will marry his elder daughter. His name is Robinson Jones backwards.
• Zulora - Senoj Nosnibor's elder daughter - Higgs finds her unpleasant, but her father hopes Higgs will marry her.
• Arowhena - Senoj Nosnibor's younger daughter; she falls in love with Higgs and runs away with him.
• Mahaina - A woman who claims to suffer from alcoholism but is believed to have a weak temperament.
• Ydgrun - The incomprehensible goddess of the Erewhonians. Her name is an anagram of Grundy (from Mrs Grundy, a character in Thomas Morton's play Speed the Plough).

Mrs. ... Thomas Morton (1764-1838) was a British playwright. ...

Reception

After its first release, this book sold far better than any of Butler's other works — perhaps because the British public assumed that the anonymous author was some better-known figure (the favorite being Lord Lytton, who had published The Coming Race two years prior). In 1901, Butler published a sequel, Erewhon Revisited, alongside a revised and expanded edition of Erewhon.

Pronunciation

In the preface to the first edition of his book, Butler specified

The author wishes it to be understood that Erewhon is pronounced as a word of three syllables, all short — thus, E-re-whon.

Nevertheless, the word is occasionally pronounced with two syllables as 'air - one'.

Cultural references

• "Erewhon Prison" is a prison in the 1997 film, Face/Off.
• "Erewhon" is also the name of a planet in David Weber's Honor Harrington book series, a space station in the novel Earth by David Brin, and a character in Lemony Snicket's novel, The End.
• The protagonist's boat in the movie The Day of the Dolphin is named Erewhon II.
• "Erehwon Tower" was the name that Frank Lloyd Wright jokingly gave to his rough design for a mile-high tower, The Illinois. The design was purely an exercise in creativity; he realized it could not be built because the materials and techniques necessary to keep so large a structure from collapsing were not available and may never be developed. The name of the tower was his way of referring to "the only place where it could be built."
• "Erehwon" is the name given by Nimisha Boynton-Rondymense to the planet on which she seeks refuge when lost in space in Anne McCaffrey's Book Nimisha's Ship

Face/Off is a 1997 film starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage and directed by John Woo. ... Erewhon is a fictional star nation that appears in David Webers Honor Harrington series of novels. ... Honor Harrington from Honor Among Enemies cover, by David Mattingly. ... Honor Stephanie Harrington is a fictional character, the eponymous heroine of a series of science fiction books set in the Honorverse, written by David Weber and published by Baen Books. ... Cover of 1991 Spectra mass market paperback edition. ... Glen David Brin, Ph. ... Lemony Snicket is a pseudonym used by author Daniel Handler in his book series A Series of Unfortunate Events, as well as a character in that series. ... The End is the thirteenth and final book in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. ... The Day of the Dolphin is a science fiction, thriller film released in 1973. ... In 1956, Frank Lloyd Wright proposed a mile-high (1,609 metres/5,280 feet) structure known as either Mile High Illinois, Illinois Sky-City, or simply The Illinois. ...

External links

• Erewhon: or Over the Range Jonathan Crane, 1921 edition from the NZETC