Normal as a Construct in John Wyndham's The Chrysalids

Abstract

This thesis is a study of a network of institutional, political and ideological factors which jointly give rise to a mechanism by means of which subjects at large are made obedient, docile and submissive. In Wyndham's The Chrysalids, a certain group of people who take power as their inherent privilege exercises the mechanism of discursivity in order to produce a notion of normal. This idea of normalcy is subsequently utilized by them as a means to hold sway over the seemingly rebellious and nonconformist people. Here the use of Foucault's notion of discursive formations becomes indispensable methodological truth to probe the issue postulated. The notion of normalcy becomes an indispensable tool. How the fabrication of the normal ultimately turns out to be a means to establish a sort of control over reluctant people who want to withhold their consent to the ruler. In the text, David, who was a rebellious and nonconformist, undergoes several experiences. The whole lot of experiences makes him and his groups realize that their wellbeing is at risk. David met Sophie and discovers that her six toes made her different from normal people and prone to punishment.