Erewhon

While imprisoned, the narrator becomes good friends with Yram, the jailer’s daughter, who brings him food and spends time with him. He is assigned an instructor to teach him the local language, which he quickly adopts. Through practice with both the instructor and Yram, the narrator becomes proficient enough with the language to start learning more about the Erewhonian culture. He discovers that his possession of a watch was almost as bad as having a severe illness, and the Government has not yet decided how to handle his case. The prison allows the narrator to have visitors, and many people from the town come to see him. Specifically, women are particularly interested in seeing him because his light hair and skin are considered rare assets. The narrator makes himself a flute and dries out herbs in the garden to smoke. These activities allow him to play music and pass the time while playing games alone in the garden. The Erewhonians are confused that he does not do these things on Sundays, not realizing that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath for Christianity, and no work can be done on this day.

When the narrator develops a mild cold, he seeks sympathy from Yram, but she is furious with him. Though the narrator is confused, Yram refuses to discuss the matter further, but she does forgive him. After learning more of the language, the narrator asks his instructor about the legal system in Erewhon, and he discovers that while possession of technology is a crime, having a physical illness is also considered to be a criminal act. The two men that he met before the magistrate who seemed ill are currently serving out a prison sentence for their sickness in the same prison as the narrator. Eventually, the Government determines that the narrator should be brought to see the King and Queen, and arrangements are made for the narrator to stay with a merchant who has recently embezzled a large sum of money.

The narrator expresses his concern about living with an embezzler, and his teacher is shocked to hear him criticize the merchant. The narrator learns that illness is treated as a crime, while crimes are treated as temporary issue, for the teacher notes that the merchant does not have any health concerns and is still highly regarded in Erewhonian society. The teacher also reveals that the narrator’s poverty was a critical flaw that almost prevented his transport to see the king and queen, but they awarded him a stipend to cover that problem. Yram is sorry that the narrator is leaving, and the narrator spends the night upset at his circumstances. The next day, the narrator is taken by carriage on his journey.

The group stops at various towns, and the narrator is blindfolded until they reach an inn each night. At the inns, people ask him questions about his temperament, and when he finally expresses irritation, they console him, offering him food and treats to improve his mood. At one inn, the narrator is visited by graduates of the Colleges of Unreason, who relate that the Erewhonians used to worship gods of “ugliness” and disease. During those times, they would sacrifice people from Chowbok’s tribe to ward off “ugliness” and disease from their own people. This information explains Chowbok’s fear of the main mountain range. They explain that, if someone like Chowbok were to come to Erewhon, they would likely be placed in a Hospital for Incurable Bores, in which boring people are kept. The scholars also explain that machinery is banned because it is believed that machines have the power to replace humanity. This prohibition stems from a work of unreason published 400 years prior, when the Erewhonians had developed advanced technology.

The journey takes about a month altogether, and when the narrator arrives in the city, he is greeted by the Mayor and some Councilors. The merchant who is hosting the narrator, Senoj Nosnibor (or Robinson Jones backward), takes him to his new home, which is large and surrounded by gardens made from an old train station. Mr. and Mrs. Nosnibor are kind and gracious, and the narrator expresses interest in their younger daughter, Arowhena. After an awkward dinner, a “straightener” arrives and takes Mr. Nosnibor to another room. The narrator hears Mr. Nosnibor crying, but Mrs. Nosnibor and Arowhena are not concerned.

The narrator presents a comparison between the contemporary European view of illness and criminality with that of the Erewhonians, noting that the two are not as different as they may appear. In Europe, those who commit crimes are often rehabilitated, and people tend to avoid those who are sick. The primary difference in Erewhon is that people express sympathy for those who are in a bad mood or have committed a crime, while they criticize physical illness outright. This stance is the exact opposite of the narrator’s perception of European behavior. The social perception of disease and immorality is largely the same in both cultures, though the narrator observes that just as an English person would not hesitate to go to the doctor if they were sick, they hide any manner of immorality to avoid punishment. Likewise, the Erewhonians openly discuss any type of immorality and visit the “straightener” for help, but they hide any sign of physical illness.

Explaining Mr. Nosnibor’s bout of immorality, the narrator details how Mr. Nosnibor dealt with some business matters in a slightly unethical way, but he did not address the issue of his immorality at that time. Later, when he had a chance to swindle a widow, he took it, embezzling a large sum of money from her. He then immediately informed his family of his crime and contacted a “straightener” to help him overcome his immoral behavior. The widow, on the other hand, was brought to court for Misplaced Confidence, and the narrator notes that she was fortunate to die before being sentenced for her crime. Mr. Nosnibor’s punishment is monthly flogging, and although he appears to be unhealthy as a result, any illnesses that develop from a moral issue, such as gluttony or violence, are treated as symptoms of the moral issue, so they are not punishable by law. The “straighteners” specialize in specific vices, and they advocate for a balance between vice and virtue, noting that many people pretend to be more virtuous than they are, which is itself a vice to be treated.

The narrator describes the Personal Bereavement Court, at which he sees a man found guilty of misfortune because his wife died, leaving him to care for their three children. Instead of a sentence of hard labor, the court is willing to fine the man 25% of the insurance money that he received after his wife’s death. The judge notes that no person has a right to great misfortune. The next case is that of a young man who was swindled by his guardian, and, though he claims that he was inexperienced and lacked independent counsel, the judge finds him guilty and sentences him to apologize to the guardian and receive a flogging.

The narrator presents the full opinion of a judge, delivered to a man convicted of pulmonary consumption, or tuberculosis. The judgment is that the man will be sentenced to hard labor for the rest of his life, and the judge covers possible causes for the tuberculosis, including the ill health of the man’s parents, a traumatic event in the man’s youth, and the consistent health issues that the man had in his life. However, the judge ultimately resolves that the man is guilty of having tuberculosis in this moment, and so he should be punished accordingly. The death penalty was only recently abolished for the crime of having tuberculosis, but the judge notes that he would sentence this man to death if he could. The man, after the sentencing, acknowledges that he had a fair trial, and he willingly submits to being imprisoned.

After the trial, the narrator wonders if the Erewhonian justice system is better or worse than the English one. He compares the ways in which criminals are treated in Erewhon and notes that there is less difference than he initially thought. What confuses the narrator most is the concept of responsibility, which, in Erewhon, is placed on those with diseases as though they had control over their misfortunes. However, using the example of a man who develops an illness on a ship, the narrator comments that the sick man will be quarantined, even if it means he will die, to save the rest of the crew. Likewise, the narrator comments that a person will kill a snake because it is dangerous, though the snake did not choose to be born as a dangerous animal.

In Erewhonian justice, reforms have developed over time, including the classifications of illnesses and various treatments for them. This is because the Erewhonians found that people were not likely to recover from their imprisonments, making them a perpetual financial burden on the state. Some Erewhonians, whom the narrator calls malcontents, continue to push for reforms. They believe that sick people should still be imprisoned but should also be able to work and live otherwise regular lives. From the perspective of these “malcontents,” simply removing sick people from society to prevent the spread of the illness should be sufficient for justice, while preventing them from working only serves to damage the economy. These malcontents still believe that some diseases warrant flogging or even the death penalty, but they generally think that, were illness less demonized, then sick people would be more willing to turn themselves over to the police. Much like with immorality, the malcontents feel that sickness can be healed, but social norms prevent people from discussing illnesses openly, which prevents them from seeking a cure.

The narrator recounts the Erewhonian beliefs and customs regarding death, noting that they perceive death as an inevitability. Since the deceased cannot be punished for dying, the state does not take much interest in death, and people generally live, as elsewhere, with the broad understanding that everyone will die. Some people devote energy to finding out when and how they will die, but this practice is commonly viewed as pointless. The narrator hints at an Erewhonian belief in an afterlife, commenting that most people “miscarry” on their way to the “unreal” life that must follow the “real” world. However, the idea of an afterlife is not fully explored, and the narrator instead focuses on the methods of honoring the dead. Erewhonians are cremated after death, and their ashes are scattered according to the instructions of the deceased.

Erewhonians commission statues of themselves for their families after their death, often with inscriptions claiming immorality and wealth, even if those claims are untrue, and everyone inscribes their statue with a claim to personal beauty. Many have friends pose for the statue in their place if their friend is better looking than they are. At one point, centuries prior, the streets were overrun with statues of public figures and prominent individuals, but the state decided that no statue should stand for more than 50 years, unless decided by a jury of 24 random people. As such, the number of statues in public is minimal, and sculptors are paid not to make statues, instead leaving inscriptions that indicate a statue was commissioned but not completed. Pregnancy is seen as a disease, and most women and their families hide pregnancy until it is unavoidable. Then, the family retires from public view until the child is born, and if the child dies in infancy, they often claim that the child was elderly and died of natural causes.

With Mr. Nosnibor out of the house on business, the narrator spends time with Mrs. Nosnibor and her eldest daughter, Zulora. A guest arrives: a woman named Mahaina, whom the narrator does not like. Mahaina talks with Mrs. Nosnibor and Zulora at length about her dipsomania (or alcohol addiction), and they all seem to agree that Mahaina has an addiction, while Mrs. Nosnibor and Zulora offer sincere condolences for her situation. When Mahaina leaves, however, Mrs. Nosnibor and Zulora confess to the narrator that they do not think Mahaina drinks at all. Instead, they think she claims to drink a lot of alcohol in order to mask her physical weakness, since addiction is a moral issue to the Erewhonians, while physical weakness is illegal. The narrator muses that he does not know how to convince the Erewhonians that medical issues are not irredeemable, and he speculates that their society would improve if they were encouraged to seek medical help instead of going to great lengths to hide their illnesses.