Stranger in a Strange Land
Hardcover, showing Rodin's sculpture, Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone, which Heinlein translates as "Caryatid Fallen Under her Stone".
Author	Robert A. Heinlein
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction novel
Publisher	Putnam Publishing Group
Publication date	June 1, 1961
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
ISBN	NA

Stranger in a Strange Land is a best-selling 1961 Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians on the planet Mars, upon his return to Earth in early adulthood. The novel explores his interaction with — and eventual transformation of — Earth culture. The novel's title refers to the Biblical Book of Exodus.^[1] According to Heinlein in Grumbles from the Grave, the novel's working title was The Heretic. Several later editions of the book have promoted it as "The most famous Science Fiction Novel ever written."^[2] Stranger in a Strange Land may refer to: Exodus 2:22 Stranger in a Strange Land, science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein Stranger in a Strange Land (Lost), episode of Lost Stranger in a Strange Land (song), song by Iron Maiden Stranger in a Strange Land (Leon Russell song... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1752x2550, 3382 KB)This cover for Stranger in a Strange Land was scanned, not taken off the internet. ... Auguste Rodin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Some notable science fiction novels, in alphabetical order by title: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke 334 by Thomas M. Disch An Age by Brian Aldiss The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... G. P. Putnams Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... See also: 1960 in literature, other events of 1961, 1962 in literature, list of years in literature. ... The 2005 Hugo Award with base designed by Deb Kosiba. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... This article is about the literary concept. ... Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ... This article is about hypothetical native inhabitants of the planet Mars. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... Earth, also known as the Earth or Terra, is the third planet outward from the Sun. ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... Grumbles from the Grave contains an assortment of bits of writing by Robert Heinlein, edited by his wife Virginia Heinlein, published a year and a half after his death. ...

When Heinlein first wrote Stranger, his editors at Putnam required him to drastically cut its original 220,000-word length, and to remove some scenes that might have been considered too shocking at the time. The resulting edited version was about 160,000 words when first published in 1961. In 1962 this version received the Hugo Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year. After Heinlein's death in 1988, his wife Virginia arranged to have the original uncut version of the manuscript published in 1991 by Ace/Putnam. Critics disagree over whether Heinlein's preferred original manuscript is in fact better than the heavily-edited version originally published. There is similar contention over the two versions of Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars. Podkayne of Mars is a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein published in 1963, about a teenage girl named Podkayne and her little brother, an antisocial genius, who leave their home on Mars to take a trip on a spaceliner to see Venus and Earth, accompanied by their uncle. ...

While initially a success among science fiction readers, over the next 6 years word-of-mouth recommendation caused sales to continue to build, requiring numerous subsequent printings of the first Putnam edition. The novel has never been out of print since it was released in 1961. Eventually Stranger in a Strange Land became a cult classic, attracting many readers who would not ordinarily have read a work of science fiction. The late-1960s counterculture, popularized by the hippie movement, was influenced by its themes of individual liberty, self-responsibility, sexual freedom and the influence of organized religion on human culture and government, and adopted the book as something of a manifesto. This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... The counterculture of the 1960s began in the United States as a reaction against the conservative social norms of the 1950s, the political conservatism (and social repression) of the Cold War period, and the US governments extensive military intervention in Vietnam. ... Singer of a modern Hippie movement in Russia The hippie subculture was a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread around the world. ...

The story that Charles Manson was influenced by this book appears to be spurious; although some of Manson's followers are said to have read Stranger, Manson himself stated that he had never read it. People not connected with Manson formed a neopagan religious organization called the Church of All Worlds, after the religion founded by the primary characters in the novel, but Heinlein had no other connection to the project. See the Heinlein Society FAQ. Charles Milles Manson (b. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ... The Church of All Worlds (CAW) is a religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for re-awakening Gaia, and re_uniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and evolving consciousness. ...

Plot summary

Valentine Michael Smith is the son of two of the eight astronauts of an ill-fated first human expedition to the planet Mars. Orphaned when the crew died (the full story of how this happened is not portrayed, but his parents were unambiguously murdered by his mother's husband, who later committed suicide), Smith is raised in the culture of the native inhabitants of the planet, beings whose minds live in another world (compare Waldo). The story portrays Valentine Michael Smith's adaptation to, and understanding of, humans and their culture, which is portrayed as an amplified version of consumerist and media-driven 20th-century America. Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Waldo (1942) is a novella by Robert A. Heinlein originally published in Astounding Magazine in August 1942, using the pseudonym Anson Macdonald. ... Consumerist redirects here. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized...

After the arrival of a second expedition to the planet some twenty years later in the space ship Champion, Smith is taken "home" to Earth, where he is consigned to (some futuristic evolution of) Bethesda Naval Hospital by the orders of the Champion's ship physician Sven Nelson. However, he is effectively imprisoned in a hospital by the current world government, a successor to the United Nations styled the "Federation of Free States," which wishes Smith to transfer to itself any rights by discovery, under Human law, that he may have to ownership of Mars. Smith is also something of a political pawn in factional struggles within the Federation, and to make matters worse he is heir to the fortunes of the entire exploration party, not just his parents, including several valuable inventions which were not developed commercially until after their deaths. In short, he is a man besieged on all sides by those who wish to use him to further their own ends. The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, also known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, is considered the flagship of the United States Navys system of medical centers. ... UN and U.N. redirect here. ...

Nurse Gillian Boardman, who regards men as secondary to her work, works at Bethesda. Since Smith is physically weak and oppressed by the comparatively heavy atmosphere and gravity of Earth, he is confined to a "hydraulic bed"^[3], and further, since Smith has not yet ever seen a female human (all the crew members of the Champion were male), Nelson has ordered that Smith be attended by male staff only, including nurses. Regarding this as a challenge, Gillian slips past the guards to get a peek at Smith, and in doing so inadvertently becomes his first female "water brother" by sharing a glass of water with him. To him this is a holy relationship based on the customs of arid Mars. Later on when a doctor meets him and attempts to converse, strange effects of custom and mistranslation ensue, including apparently catalepsy. Obviously Smith is not ready for mainstream attention quite yet. Catalepsy is a condition characterized by muscular rigidity, fixity of posture and decreased sensitivity to pain. ...

After her watch, Gillian prepares for a date with her boyfriend, investigative journalist Ben Caxton. He sends a robocab to take her to another place, where they catch a second cab and eventually go to his place. Ben informs her that the cloak-and-dagger act is necessary because being associated with him is dangerous.

However, Jill tells Ben about her strange and wonderful experience, and Ben explains to her some of the bizarre interplanetary politics swirling around Smith, and finally she agrees to place a bug to monitor Smith. Later, when she and Ben watch a "stereovision" telecast of the "Man from Mars", she knows instantly that he is a fraud (since the real Smith doesn't really understand English or even more basic human customs). Ben sees the substitution as political and not scientific: he wonders if the real Smith will ever be allowed out into the world. Ben attempts to see and unmask the phony Smith, but disappears. Meanwhile, Gillian tries to persuade Smith to leave the hospital with her. He is willing to go anywhere with a water brother, but they only get as far as Ben's apartment before agents attempt to kidnap them. Smith causes the agents to disappear, and he is so shocked by Gillian's terrified reaction that he enters what seems to be a catatonic state. She has to carry him away in a large trunk. This is a page about catatonic state. ...

They reach the enclave owned by Ben's friend and fellow gadfly, Jubal Harshaw, an eccentric millionaire writer of fiction, TV scripts, and other kinds of mass-market pablum, who also happens to be a qualified medical doctor, a lawyer, and an advisor to certain public figures. Harshaw's five employees include three beautiful women who act as secretaries, walking dictation machines and cooks, as well as restraints on his excesses, along with technical helpers Duke and Larry. With Gillian, they teach Smith human customs and behavior, including sexual behavior. Jubal Harshaw is a fictional character featured in Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel by Robert A. Heinlein. ...

Smith demonstrates psychic abilities and superhuman intelligence, which are coupled with a childlike naïveté. When Jubal is trying to explain religion to him, Smith understands the concept of God only as "one who groks", which includes every living person, plant, and animal. This leads him to express the Martian concept of the oneness of Life as the phrase "Thou art God". Due to his education on a different planet, many human concepts—such as war, clothing, and jealousy—are strange to him, while the idea of an afterlife is something he takes as a given because the government on Mars is composed of "Old Ones", the spirits of Martians who have died. It is also customary for loved ones and friends to eat the bodies of the dead, in a spirit of Holy Communion. Edgar Cayce (1877 – 1945) was one of the best-known American psychics of the 20th century and made many highly publicized predictions. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ...

Harshaw realizes he cannot keep the young man concealed forever, and after an attempt by government forces to reclaim Smith is frustrated by the young man's Martian-taught abilities, Harshaw brokers a deal under which the Secretary-General, in his individual capacity, will act as trustee for Smith's immense wealth. Harshaw is able to make his implication stick that human law, which would have granted ownership of Mars to Smith, has no applicability to a planet already inhabited by intelligent aliens who do not have the concept of ownership. In law, individual capacity is a term of art referring to ones status as a natural person, distinct from any other role. ...

Writing in the early 1960s, Heinlein accurately predicted the existence of enormous Evangelical/Fundamentalist megachurches as corporate entities controlling their own television networks and other businesses, similar to the Moral Majority, the Christian Coalition, and other historical entities. The Fosterites train squadrons of teenagers and young adults, the Spirit-in-Action League, to physically attack other religions, newspapers, etc., who fail to respect their version of the truth. Ironically, the Fosterites, along with all other religions, turn out to be true agents of divine forces. During his stay with Harshaw, Smith is taken to a Fosterite service and introduced to Bishop Digby, whom Smith apparently kills for reasons never fully explained (although it is known that Digby rejected Smith's assertion that "Thou art God"). Subsequent to this incident, Smith realizes that he himself is responsible for his own choices, and begins to behave in a more Earthly "humanistic" manner. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Relation to other religions Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Christianity Portal This box:      In contemporary usage, the word evangelicalism refers to a collection of religious beliefs, practices, and traditions typified by an emphasis on evangelism [1]. Evangelical Christians describe evangelicalism as... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ... The interior of Rev. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the organization presently operating in the United States. ...

Once accustomed to the human race, Smith moves out with Gillian and joins a traveling circus as a magician. Although his "magic" is real—levitation and teleportation—he is a failure as an entertainer, because of his inability to understand people's need to be deceived. He eventually learns to understand humanity ("Jill, I grok people!") when he comprehends how painful and unjust life is by watching monkeys mistreat each other in a zoo. He also realizes that most humor is based on laughing at distress or indignities suffered by others.

Smith realizes there's no need for so much misery, and asks Jill what he needs to do to be ordained. He then starts a Martian-influenced "Church of All Worlds," which teaches its members how to rise above suffering, such as "pain and sickness and hunger and fighting." However, parts of the religion, such as group sex, communal living, and cannibalism, make Smith's church a target for enemies following more conventional religions.

Smith's church combines elements of the Fosterite service with the ambience of mystery religions and initiation, similar to the Ordo Templi Orientis. Members learn the Martian language, and consequently acquire psychic abilities like Smith's: they become virtually superhuman. The church is eventually besieged by Fosterites for practicing "blasphemy," and the physical building is destroyed. However, at the moment of destruction, Smith teleports the members of the Church and all important materials to a resort hotel he owns in the same city. As this hotel was previously bought through a series of dummy corporations, there is no direct association with Smith for Fosterites to immediately follow. Lamen of the Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East, or the Order of Oriental Templars) is an international fraternal and religious organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

In a last conversation with Harshaw, Smith fears that people will not accept a nonviolent path because humanity must have violence for "weeding out" the unfit; Harshaw tells him that if he has faith in the movement he has started and their ability to show people what is possible through self-discipline, then in all likelihood Smith's following will eventually dominate the world religiously and politically (it appears that they are already well on their way to doing so). A mob gathers while they talk; Smith goes out to address them and is brutally killed, his final words spoken to a grasshopper: "I love you" and "You are God". It is obvious that he is letting himself be sacrificed. Harshaw is shocked at how blasé the others are at Mike's death and attempts suicide by swallowing three unidentified pills; Mike returns as a voice in Jubal's head and both helps Harshaw vomit the pills and causes him to realize that Mike's sacrifice was only of the body, not of the soul. Smith is explicitly portrayed as a modern Prometheus, and implicitly as a messianic figure; in the ending of the book, one interpretation is that he is in reality the archangel Michael, who has assumed human form. The book ends with Mike promoted to another plane of existence, similar to Heaven, but a place where work is to be done. The original Rev. Foster appoints Rev. Digby as Mike's assistant. In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Ancient Greek: , forethought)[1] is a Titan known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals for their use. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian ; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , ; the Anointed One) at first meant any person who was anointed with oil on rising to a certain position among the ancient Israelites, at first that of High priest, later that of King and also that of a prophet. ... Archangels are superior or higher-ranking angels. ... Guido Renis archangel Michael (in the Capuchin church of Santa Maria della Concezione, Rome) tramples Satan. ...

Characters

• Crew members of the Envoy, the first human attempt to travel to Mars. Their ship survives the trip to Mars, but then ceases transmission, and their fate is unknown for the next 20 years.
  • Mary Jane Lyle Smith — power technician. Before leaving Earth she patents technology, placed in trust, subsequently developed into the Lyle Drive, principal form of spaceship propulsion. Biological mother of Valentine Michael Smith, who comes to legally own the fortune her invention has accrued.
  • Dr. Ward Smith — ship physician and nominal father, during the passage to Mars, of a fetus (Smith is born after landing)
  • Captain Michael Brant — captain and biological father of the baby boy — Valentine Michael Smith
• Valentine Michael Smith, known as Michael Smith, or just "Mike", the "Man from Mars", raised on Mars in the interval between the crash of his ship, the Envoy, and arrival of the second expedition, the Champion; about 20 years old when the Champion arrives and brings him to Earth
• Officers of the Champion. All of these people became "water brothers" to Mike on Mars or during the trip back, but this information is only revealed to Mike's earthbound human friends when they meet the officers
  • Captain van Tromp
  • Dr. Mahmoud — semanticist, of Arab descent, and a devout Muslim; the second human (after Mike) to gain a working knowledge of the Martian language
  • Dr. Sven Nelson — ship's physician and personal physician to Mike at Bethesda Medical Center until he withdraws from the case in a confrontation with the Secretary General (see below)
• Government officials — Several government officials have roles at least at the beginning
  • Secretary-General Joseph Douglas ("Joe Douglas"). Douglas is the head of the Federation of Free States, a sort of evolution of the United Nations into a true world government
  • Gil Berquist — assistant to Secretary Douglas. Mike makes him and a policeman disappear during a confrontation with Jill (see below).
  • Alice Douglas — (sometimes called "Agnes"), wife of Joe Douglas, not a government official but orders her husband and his staff around nonetheless. She frequently consults an astrologer for major decisions.
  • Jim Sanforth — Douglas' press secretary
  • Assemblyman Kung — de facto head of the Eastern Coalition, a political bloc opposed to Douglas in the Federation
  • Senator Tom Boone — besides being a politician, he's a senior member of the Fosterite religious organization, and wants both Mike's wealth and prestige to accrue to the faith.
• Becky Vesey (stage name Madame Alexandra Vesant) — Mrs Douglas' astrologer, and later a member of Mike's Church of All Worlds. When Harshaw (see below) has a sudden urgent need to contact Douglas, Vesant provides the way when all official roads are blocked.
• Gillian Boardman — nurse at Bethesda, the first person on Earth to become a "water brother" to Mike
• Ben Caxton — investigative journalistic and boyfriend of Jill. He makes her aware of Mike's legal significance (potential ownership both of enormous amounts of Earthly wealth and the planet Mars itself, at least according to Federation law), and persuades her to bug Smith's hospital suite, revealing an attempt by Douglas to defraud Smith of this wealth and power.
• James Cavendish — a Fair Witness employed by Ben in an attempt to expose a fake Man from Mars shown on stereovision. Fair Witnesses are a legal institution created to provide impartial and accurate observation of potentially contentious legal situations. Apart from Cavendish, Anne (see below) is also a Fair Witness.
• Jubal Harshaw — popular writer, lawyer, doctor, now semi-retired to a house in the Poconos northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Harshaw's age is never given but is probably at least 80 by indirect indications. When Ben Caxton disappears, Jill takes Mike to Harshaw to defend his rights, but finds Harshaw not eager to defend Mike's right to unearned wealth. However, when the authorities get rough he changes his mind.
• Anne — (no last name given) oldest and tallest of three female secretaries to Harshaw. Has total recall and Fair Witness standing (see Cavendish above)
• Miriam — another female secretary to Harshaw, red-headed
• Dorcas — third female secretary. Dark-haired. Anne, Miriam, and Dorcas has somewhat dissimilar body types and characters, although they grow more similar as the story progresses and they come to believe that they each of them contains "God" within themselves.
• Larry and Duke — two men that Harshaw employs to keep the high-tech part of his isolated and private household running so he doesn't need external, expensive, and disruptive repairmen.
• Patricia Paiwonski ("Pat") — circus performer that Mike and Jill meet while Mike poses as a magician in a small travelling circus.
• Angels. Two "angels" provide some commentary and act quite apart from the humans. A third angel is introduced at the end of the book.
  • Foster — The founder of the Church of the New Revelation (Fosterite) upon death becomes an angel
  • Digby — Supreme Bishop Digby, Foster's successor as head of the Church of the New Revelation, also becomes an angel when he dies.

In the preface for the re-issued book, Virginia Heinlein writes Hand-coloured version of the anonymous Flammarion woodcut (1888). ... The Poconos, or the Pocono Mountains region, is a mountainous region of about 2,400 square miles (6,200 km²) located in northeastern Pennsylvania. ... Nickname: City of Brotherly Love, Philly, the Quaker City Motto: Philadelphia maneto (Let brotherly love continue) Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Mayor John F. Street (D) Area    - City 369. ...

The given names of the chief characters have great importance to the plot. They were carefully selected: Jubal means "the father of all," Michael stands for "Who is like God"

Fair Witness

Fair Witness is a fictional profession invented for the novel. A Fair Witness is an individual trained to observe events and report exactly what he or she sees and hears, making no extrapolations or assumptions. An eidetic memory is a prerequisite for the job, although this may be attainable with suitable training. Eidetic memory, photographic memory, or total recall, is the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in seemingly abundant volume. ...

In Heinlein's society, a Fair Witness is a highly reputable source of information. By custom, a Fair Witness acting professionally, generally wearing distinctive robes, is never addressed directly, and all present are supposed to avoid acknowledging the presence of the Witness in any way. The best Witnesses are highly paid and famous.

Unlike the superficially similar profession of Mentat in Frank Herbert's Dune, Fair Witnesses are prohibited from drawing conclusions about what they observe. The character Jubal Harshaw asks one of his assistants, who is also a Fair Witness, to describe the color of a house in the distance. She responds, "It's white on this side." She would not testify as to the color of any other part of the house without being able to see it. A Mentat is a fictional profession or discipline in Frank Herberts Dune universe. ... Frank Patrick Herbert (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. ... Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert and published in 1965. ... Jubal Harshaw is a fictional character featured in Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel by Robert A. Heinlein. ...

Novelist Jubal Harshaw employs a Fair Witness, Anne, as one of his three secretaries. When the spirit moves him, he will start dictating, and the Witness will remember every word. She can even keep track of several novels at once, despite frequent switches between them.

When Ben Caxton decides to do something that might result in litigation, he hires a famous Witness, James Oliver Cavendish, to ensure he isn't unfairly imprisoned. A lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court in order to recover a right, obtain damages for an injury, obtain an injunction to prevent an injury, or obtain a declaratory judgment to prevent future legal disputes. ...

Literary significance and criticism

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (December 2007)

Like many influential works of literature, Stranger made a contribution to the language: specifically, the word "grok." In Heinlein's invented Martian language, "grok" literally means "to drink" and figuratively means "to understand," "to love," and "to be one with." This word rapidly became common parlance among science fiction fans, hippies, and computer hackers, and has since entered the Oxford English Dictionary among others. Heinlein wrote most of the novel completely in dialogue, containing often long monologues, and only has a few pages of narration that depict the state of the world during the ensuing plot. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... For other uses, see Grok (disambiguation). ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP), and is the most successful dictionary of the English language, (not to be confused with the one-volume Oxford Dictionary of English, formerly New Oxford Dictionary of English, of...

A central element of the second half of the novel is the religious movement founded by Smith, the "Church of All Worlds." This church is an initiatory mystery religion, blending elements of paganism and revivalism with psychic training and instruction in the Martian language. In 1968, a group of neopagans inspired by Stranger took it upon themselves to found a religious group with this name, modeled in many ways after the fictional organization. Their Church of All Worlds remains an active part of the neopagan community today. Mystery religions, or simply Mysteries, were belief systems of the Graeco-Roman world full admission to which was restricted to those who had gone through certain secret initiation rites. ... Neopaganism (sometimes Neo-Paganism, meaning New Paganism) is a heterogeneous group of religions which attempt to revive ancient, mainly European pre-Christian religions. ...

Stranger was written in part as a deliberate attempt to challenge social mores. In the course of the story, Heinlein uses Smith's open-mindedness to reevaluate such institutions as religion, money, monogamy, and the fear of death. Heinlein completed writing it ten years after he had (uncharacteristically) plotted it out in detail. He later wrote, "I had been in no hurry to finish it, as that story could not be published commercially until the public mores changed. I could see them changing and it turned out that I had timed it right."^[4]

Stranger contains an early description of the waterbed, an invention which made its real-world debut a few years later in 1968. Charles Hall, who brought a waterbed design to the United States Patent Office, was refused a patent on the grounds that Heinlein's descriptions in Stranger and another novel, Double Star, constituted prior art. ^[5] A waterbed or water mattress is a bed or mattress filled with water. ... There are several notable people named Charles Hall. ... For other uses, see Patent (disambiguation). ... When two stars are so nearly in the same direction as seen from Earth that they appear to be a single star to the naked eye but may be separated by the use of telescopes, they are referred to as a double star. ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ...

Heinlein reportedly named his main character "Smith" because of a speech he made at a science fiction convention regarding the unpronounceable names assigned to extraterrestrials. After describing the importance of establishing a dramatic difference between humans and aliens, Heinlein concluded, "Besides, whoever heard of a Martian named Smith?" ("A Martian Named Smith" was both Heinlein's working title for the book and the name of the screenplay being started by Harshaw at the end.)

Lack of psychological realism

Two related criticisms^{[citation needed]} that have been made are that the book steps outside the bounds of psychological realism, and that it advocates a utopia which cannot actually be achieved without knowledge of the fictitious Martian language or similarly fanciful supernatural powers. However, some critics, including Patterson and Thornton^{[citation needed]}, argue that the story is to be understood not as a psychologically realistic novel but as a qualitatively different form, the narrative satire. Heinlein described the story, in a letter to his agent, as "a Cabellesque satire of sex and religion,"^{[citation needed]} suggesting that it be evaluated on the same terms as such intentionally unrealistic stories as Cabell's Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice. The expectation, then, is that when the scene shifts to a discussion between a dead person's soul and an archangel, the reader doesn't even need to suspend his sense of disbelief, because the story has never invited belief in its realism in the first place. Similarly, if there is no expectation that the book should be taken as a realistic prescription for a utopia, then the utopia's impracticability is not a defect in the story.^{[citation needed]} In a passage from his book of collected letters, Heinlein claims that the purpose of the novel was to ask important questions, not hand out convenient answers.^{[citation needed]}
Jubal Harshaw notes, in the book, that Smith's 'system' is fine 'for angels.' James Branch Cabell photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1935 James Branch Cabell (April 14, 1879 - May 5, 1958) was an American author of fantasy fiction and belles lettres. ... Symbol of the Society which failed in its attempt to ban the book. ... Jubal Harshaw is a fictional character featured in Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel by Robert A. Heinlein. ...

Homosexuality and gender roles

To some readers, several statements in the book convey a sense of religious bigotry, misogyny, and homophobia. For example: For people named Bigot and other meanings, see Bigot (disambiguation). ... This box:      Misogyny (IPA: ) is hatred or strong prejudice against women; an antonym of philogyny. ... A protest by The Westboro Baptist Church, a group identified by the Anti-Defamation League as virulently homophobic. ...

...[Jill] had explained homosexuality, after Mike had read about it and failed to grok — and had given him rules for avoiding passes; she knew that Mike, pretty as he was, would attract such. He had followed her advice and had made his face more masculine, instead of the androgynous beauty he had had. But Jill was not sure that Mike would refuse a pass, say, from Duke — fortunately Mike's male water brothers were decidedly masculine, just as his others were very female women. Jill suspected that Mike would grok a 'wrongness' in the poor in-betweeners anyhow — they would never be offered water.^[6]

Another passage concerns the mail that the man from Mars receives:

After looking over a bushel or so of Mike's first class mail Jubal set up a list of categories: ... G. Proposals of marriage and propositions not quite so formal ... Jill brought a letter, category "G," to Jubal. More than half of the ladies and other females (plus misguided males) who supplied this category included pictures alleged to be of themselves; some left little to the imagination, as did the letters themselves in many cases. This letter [from a woman] enclosed a picture which managed not only to leave nothing to the imagination, but started over by stimulating fresh imaginings.^[7]

One critic writes:

These days the "heresy" is centered more on the characters' provincial attitudes towards gay men ("poor in-betweeners" whose "wrongness" denies them water-kinship) and all women ("Nine times out of ten, if a girl gets raped, it's at least partly her own fault," Jill says to Michael, when instructing him not to defend her too strenuously against such an assault). (Tasha Robinson, "Humanity, through a glass brightly"^[8])

However, these passages both convey the attitudes of the prudish character Jill, who is used as a dramatic foil for Mike and Jubal's less parochial views.^[9] A major thread of the story is Smith's gradual persuasion of Jill to grow beyond her inhibitions, embrace her previously suppressed exhibitionist nature, and learn to understand other people's sexuality (e.g., Duke's interest in pornography). The passage about the letter deals with Jill's inclination to shield Mike from it, and she is overruled by the wiser Jubal. The quote concerning "wrongness" in the "poor in-betweeners" likewise portrays Jill's speculation about what Mike would think of homosexuality, not Mike's actual attitudes.

Furthermore, just prior to the dénouement, the story arc is revealed: that one major difference between humans and Martian species is that humans require two genders to reproduce (and to "grow-closer"), while Martians do not: the young "egg" Martians are female and the adults are male. In the final chapter, Mike comes to understand (through a conversation with Jubal) that this is the root of competition on Earth, in order to concede to the "survival of the fittest" concept. In this capacity, the story of a stranger in a strange land becomes a metaphor for the interactions between males and females.

On the other hand, just because some of these negative views of homosexuality occur in the thoughts and words of the characters, rather than coming from the authorial voice, that doesn't mean that they were not intended to express Heinlein's views. As Brooks Peck put it, "Heinlein loved to pontificate through the mouths of his characters," and Jubal is clearly often acting as a mouthpiece for Heinlein's own views.

Later chapters in the novel, depicting the workings of the Church of All Worlds, in fact have a number of references, some more obvious than others, that the sexual bonding that occurs between water-brothers is not limited to male/female. Ben, who has become a water brother but who has not received the training that normal church members receive, comments at one point that two men are kissing, but nothing about the act seems out of place or unmasculine. By the novel's end, it seems to promote a kind of general bisexuality, implying that sexual bonding can occur between any water-brothers, regardless of gender. Unlike many other Heinlein novels, this standpoint is never directly stated but only strongly implied, so other interpretations are possible.^{[citation needed]}

Smith determines that the greatest gift that the Martians lack is the "gift" of gender. The asexual Martians have no concept of gender and it is this balance and duality that Smith finds to be the most amazing difference between the two species.

A more general discussion of Heinlein's attitudes on sexuality, homosexuality, gender roles, and sexual freedom is given in the article on Heinlein himself. Robert Anson Heinlein (July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was one of the most popular, influential, and controversial authors of hard science fiction. ...

Editions

• June 1, 1961, Putnam Publishing Group, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-10772-X^[10]
• Avon, NY, 1st paperback edition, 1961.
• 1965, New English Library Ltd, (London).
• March 1968, Berkley Medallion. paperback, ISBN 425-04688-5 or ISBN 0-425-04688-5
• July 1970, New English Library Ltd, (London). 400 pages, paperback. (3rd 'new edition', August 1971 reprint, is NEL 2844, no ISBN quoted.)
• 1972, Capricorn Books, 408 pages, ISBN 0-399-50268-8
• October 1975, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-03067-9
• November 1977, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-03782-7
• July 1979, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-04377-0
• September 1980, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-04688-5
• July 1982, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-05833-6
• July 1983, Penguin Putnam, paperback, ISBN 0-425-06490-5
• January 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-07142-1
• May 1, 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-05216-8
• December 1984, Berkley Publishing Group, ISBN 0-425-08094-3
• November 1986, Berkley Publishing Group, paperback, ISBN 0-425-10147-9
• January 1991, uncut edition, Ace/Putnam, hardcover, ISBN 0-399-13586-3
• May 3, 1992, original uncut edition, Hodder and Stoughton, mass market paperback, 655 pages, ISBN 0-450-54742-6
• October 1, 1991, uncut edition, Ace Books, paperback, 528 pages, ISBN 0-441-78838-6
• August 1, 1995, ACE Charter, paperback, 438 pages, ISBN 0-441-79034-8
• April 1, 1996, Blackstone Audiobooks, cassette audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-0952-1
• October 1, 1999, Sagebrush, library binding, ISBN 0-8085-2087-3
• June 1, 2002, Blackstone Audiobooks, cassette audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-2229-3
• January 2003, Turtleback Books Distributed by Demco Media, hardcover, ISBN 0-606-25126-X
• November 1, 2003, Blackstone Audiobooks, CD audiobook, ISBN 0-7861-8848-0
• March 14, 2005, Hodder and Stoughton, paperback, 655 pages, ISBN 0-340-83795-0

is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... G. P. Putnams Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Ace Books is the oldest continuing publisher of science fiction & fantasy novels, founded in 1953 by magazine publisher A. A. Wyn. ... is the 213th day of the year (214th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full 1995 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 152nd day of the year (153rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ...

References

Notes

Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... Khafres Pyramid and the Great Sphinx of Giza, built about 2550 BC during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom,[1] are enduring symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was a civilization in Northeastern Africa concentrated along the middle to lower reaches of the Nile River... For other uses, see Pharaoh (disambiguation). ... Zipporah or Tzipora (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; Greek: Sephora ; Arabic: Safura or Safrawa ; bird), mentioned in the Book of Exodus, was the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Jethro, a priest of Midian. ... This page is about the version of the Bible; for the Harvey Danger album, see King James Version (album). ... The full title of this book by Robert A. Heinlein is Expanded Universe, The New Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, copyright 1980 by Heinlein. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

John [Frederick] Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who lives in Britain. ... John [Frederick] Clute is a Canadian born author and critic who lives in Britain. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Peter Nicholls may refer to: Peter Nicholls (writer) - critic and co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Peter Nicholls (musician) - lead singer with the bands IQ and Niadems Ghost, also an album cover artist Different spelling Peter Nichols - author of A Day in the Death of Joe Egg... A science fiction and academical writer, born in England by russian and polish parents, but raised in France. ... Alexei Adam Panshin (born August 14, 1940) is an American author and critic of science fiction (SF). ... David Pringle (born 1950) was a Scottish science fiction editor. ... Author of A Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Stranger in a Strange Land

• Stranger in a Strange Land publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Church of All Worlds
• List of Characters
• Themes, Motifs, and Symbols
• Review comparing Cut and Uncut versions of text
• "Junior, you aren’t shaping up too angelically": Queerness in Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, by Allyn Howey

v • d • e Robert A. Heinlein novels, major collections, and nonfiction (Bibliography)
Future History and World as Myth	Methuselah's Children (1958) · The Past Through Tomorrow (1967) · Time Enough for Love (1973) · The Number of the Beast (1980) · The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) · To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987)
Scribner's juveniles	Rocket Ship Galileo (1947) Space Cadet (1948) · Red Planet (1949) · Farmer in the Sky (1950) · Between Planets (1951) · The Rolling Stones (1952) · Starman Jones (1953) · The Star Beast (1954) · Tunnel in the Sky (1955) · Time for the Stars (1956) · Citizen of the Galaxy (1957) · Have Space Suit—Will Travel (1958)
Other novels	For Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs (1939/2003) · Beyond This Horizon (1942) · Sixth Column (1949) · The Puppet Masters (1951) · Double Star (1956) · The Door into Summer (1957) · Starship Troopers (1959) · Stranger in a Strange Land (1961) · Podkayne of Mars (1963) · Glory Road (1963) · Farnham's Freehold (1965) · The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) · I Will Fear No Evil (1970) · Friday (1982) · Job: A Comedy of Justice (1984) · Variable Star (1955/2006)
Nonfiction	Take Back Your Government (1946/1992) · Tramp Royale (1954/1992) · Expanded Universe (1980) · Grumbles from the Grave (1989)