WIXLIB

It isaLawof Nature with us that a male child shall have one moreside than his father, so that each generation shall rise (as a rule)one stepThus the son of a Squareinnobility.the son of a Pentagon, a Hexagon and so on.is a PentagonBut this rule applies not always to the Tradesmen, and still lessoften to the Soldiers, and to the Workmen; who indeed can hardly bethe scale of development and;;said to deserve thesidesnameofWith themequal.still.Isosceles,that hiscondition.For,andFigures, since they have not all theirLawof Nature does not hold;a Triangle with two sides equal) remainsallNevertheless,hope is not shut out, even from theand the son of an IsoscelesIsosceleshumantherefore the(i.e.posterityaftermayultimately risea long series of militaryskilful labours, it is d that the more intelligent amongthe Artisan and Soldier classes manifest a slight increase of their third sideor base, and a shrinkage of the two other sides.Intermarriages (arrangedbetween the sons and daughters of these more intellectualbymembers of the lower classes generally result in an offspring approxithe Priests)matingstillRarelymore to the type of the Equal-sided Triangle.in proportion to the vast number of Isoscelesgenuine and certifiable1Such a birthparents.isarequires, as its antecedents, not only a series ofcarefully arranged intermarriages, but also a long-continuedandbirthsEqual-sided Triangle produced from Isoscelesexercise ofon the part of the would-be ancestors of thecoming Equilateral, and a patient, systematic, and continuous developmentfrugalityself-controlof the Isosceles intellect through1" What needSon acertificatemanygenerations.of a certificate?" a Spaceland critic may ask : " Is not the procreation of a Square"1 reply that noherself, proving the Equal-sidedness of the Father ?from Natureposition will marry an uncertified Triangle.Square offspring has sometimes resultedfrom a slightly Irregular Triangle but in almost every such case the Irregularity of the firstgeneration is visited on the third ; which either fails to attain the Pentagonal rank, or relapses toLady of any:the Triangular.B

FlatlandioThebirth of aTrue Equilateral Triangle fromIsosceles parentsisthesubject of rejoicing in our country for many furlongs round. After astrict eximination conducted by the Sanitary and Social Board, the infant,as Regular,if certifiedEquilaterals.Heisiswith solemn ceremonial admitted into the class ofthen immediately taken from his proud yet sorrowingparents and adopted by some childless Equilateral, whonever to permit the child henceforth to enter his formeras to lookuponisbound by oathhomeor somuchhis relations again, for fear lest the freshlyorganism may, by force of unconscious imitation,falldevelopedback again into hishereditary level.Theoccasional emergence of an Isosceles from the ranks of his serf-born ancestors,gleam oflightwelcomed not only by the poor serfs themselves,and hope shed upon the monotonous squalor ofisexistence, but alsoby the Aristocracyat large;ownprivileges, serve as atheirfor all the higher classesare well aware that these rare phenomena, while they doto vulgarise theiras amostlittleor nothinguseful barrier againstrevolution from below.Hadthe acute-angled rabble beenwithout exception, absolutelydestitute of hope and of ambition, they might have found leaders in someof their many seditious outbreaks, so able as to render their superiorall,numbers and strength too much evenfor theBut a wise ordinance of Nature has decreedwisdom of thethat,inproportion asthe working-classes increase in intelligence, knowledge, andin thatsame proportionterrible) shall increasetheir acute angle (whichisvirtue,makes them physicallyand approximate to the harmless angle ofThus, in the most brutal and formidable offound that,astheywaxwomeninintheir lackthe mental abilitytremendous penetrating power to advantage,employdo they wane in the power of penetration itself.necessary tosoitallalsothe Equilateral Triangle.the soldier class creatures almost on a level withof intelligenceCircles.their

1 1HowadmirablethisisLawof CompensationAnd how!perfect aproof of the natural fitness and, I may almost say, the divine origin ofthe aristocratic constitution of the States in FlatlandBy a judicious use!of thisLawof Nature, the Polygons and Circles are almost always ableto stifle sedition invery cradle, taking advantage of the irrepressibleand boundless hopefulness of the human mind.' Art also comes to theIt is generally found possibleaid of Law and Order.by a little artificialitscompression or expansion on the part of the State physicianssome of the moreto admitthemwhostilltomakeintelligent leaders of a rebellion perfectly Regular,at once into the privileged classesa;muchandnumber,largerbelow the standard, allured by the prospect of being ultimately ennobled, are induced to enter the State Hospitals, where they arekept in honourable confinement for life one or two alone of the moreare;obstinate, foolish,and hopelesslyirregular are led to execution.Then the wretched rabble of theeither transfixed without resistanceandleaderless, arebody oftheir brethrenIsosceles, planlessthe smallbywhomthe Chief Circle keeps in pay for emergencies of this kindmoreoften,by means ofamong them byjealousiestwo hundred and4.Noangles.twenty rebellions are recordedatskilfullyor elsefomentedthe Circular party, they are stirred to mutual warfare,and perish by one another'snumberedand suspicions;inthan one hundred andlessour annals, besides minor outbreaksthirty-fiveConcerning;and they haveallended thus.Women.theIf our highly pointed Triangles of the Soldier class are formidable,itmay beifa Soldierreadily inferred that farisa wedge, apoint, at least at themore formidable are our Women.Womanherself practically invisible at will,in Flatland, isistwo extremities.a needleAddto this theand youa creature by no means to be;For,being, so to speak, allpower of makingwill perceive that aFemale,trifled with.B 2

1Flatland2Butwomanhere, perhaps,in Flatlandsome ofmakecanmyyounger Readers may ask how aThis ought,herself invisible.be apparent without any explanation.it clear to the mostunreflecting.think, toIHowever, a few words willmakePlace a needle on a table.Then, with your eye on the level of theandside-ways,you see the whole length of it but lookat it end-ways, and you see nothing but a pointit has become practicallysoisitinvisible.withoneofourWomen. When her side is turnedJusttable, look atit;:towardsus,weeye or mouthsee her as a straight lineforwhen the end containing herwith us these two organs are identicalwethat meets our eye, thenwhen;the partissee nothing but a highly lustrous point;butthe backis presented to our view, thenbeing only sub-lustrous,asdimasalmostaninanimate object her hinder extremityand, indeed,serves her as a kind of Invisible Cap.The dangers to which we are exposed from ourbe manifest to the meanest capacity in Spaceland.of a respectable Triangle in the middle classifto run against aWorking ManisWomennot withoutinvolves a gashOfficer of the military class necessitates a serious;must nowIf even theangleitsdangerscollision with anifwoundif;;a mere touchfrom the vertex of a Private Soldier brings with it danger of deathit be to run against a Woman, except absolute and immediate;what candestruction?And whensub-lustrous point,howadifficultalways to avoid collisionManyWomanismustinvisible, or visiblebe, evenfor theatdifferenttimes in the different!are the enactmentsmadeStates of Flatland, in order to minimize this perilandlessonly as a dimmost cautious,it;andin thetemperate climates, where the force of gravitationand human beings moreliable toLaws concerning Womengeneral view of the Codeisgreater,casual and involuntary motions, theare naturallymaySouthernmuch morestringent.But abe obtained from the following summary:

Flatland13Every house shall have one entrance in the Eastern side, for the use" in aof Females only by which all females shall enterbecoming and" kinFemale shall2. Noany public place without continually1.;keeping up her Peace-cry, under penalty of death.certified to be suffering from3. Any Female, dulycoldchronicfits,accompaniedviolentbySt. Vitus'sorsneezing,Dance,any diseasenecessitating involuntary motions, shall be instantly destroyed.In some of the States there is an additional Law forbidding Females,under penalty of death, from walking or standingwithout moving their backs constantly from right totheirpresence totravelling, tohusbandthose 'behind;any public placeso as to indicateleftothers obligeaWoman, whenbe followed by one of her sons, or servants, or by herWomen altogether to their houses except duringothers confine;the religious festivals.Statesmen that theortheminButithas been found by the wisest of our Circlesmultiplicationof restrictions on Females tendsnot only to the debilitation and diminution of the race, but also to theincreaseof domestic murdersmore thanitgainsbytosuch anFor whenever the temper of thefinement athomeextent that a State losesa too prohibitive Code.Womenisthus exasperated by con-or hampering regulations abroad, they are apt to ventupon their husbands and children and in the less temperateclimates the whole male population of a village has been sometimestheir spleen;destroyed in one or two hours of simultaneous female outbreak. Hencethe Three Laws, mentioned above, suffice for the better regulated States,and may be accepted as a rough exemplification of our Female Code.After1Whenall,Iwasour principal safeguardinisfound, not in Legislature, but inSpaceland I understood that some of your Priestly Circles have in the sameof Board Schools (Spectator, Sept.separate entrance for Villagers, Fanners, and Teachers1884, p. 1255) that they may "approach in a becoming and respectful manner."way a

Flatland14Women themselves. For, although they can inflictdeathinstantaneousby a retrograde movement, yet unless they can atonce disengage their stinging extremity from the struggling body ofthe interests of thetheir victim, theirThe powerownfrailof Fashionless civilised Statesbodies are liable to be shattered.isno femalealsoison ourside.Ipointed out thatsuffered to stand ininsomeany public place with-out swaying her back from right to left. This practice has been universalamong ladies of any pretensions to breeding in all well-governed States, asback as the memory of Figures can reach. It is considered a disgraceto any State that legislation should have to enforce what ought to be, andfaris inmayrankevery respectable female, a natural instinct. The rhythmical and, if Iso say, well-modulated undulation of the back in our ladies of Circularisenvied and imitated by the wife of acommonEquilateral,who canachieve nothing beyond a mere monotonous swing, like the ticking of apendulum;and the regulartick of the Equilateralisnolessadmired andcopied by the wife of the progressive and aspiring Isosceles, in the females""of any kind has become as yet aback-motionof whose family nonecessity of"back motionin theseNotHence,life."isand consideration,and the husbands and sonsin every family of positionas prevalent as time itself;households enjoy immunity at least from invisible attacks.thatitmust bedestitute of affection.for a moment supposed that our Women areBut unfortunately the passion of the momentpredominates, in the Frail Sex, over every other consideration.Thisof course, a necessity arising from their unfortunate conformation.is,Foras they have no pretensions to an angle, being inferior in this respect tothe very lowest of the, Isosceles, they are consequently wholly devoid ofbrain-power, and have neither reflection, judgment nor forethought, andhardly any memory.Hence,intheirclaims and recognise no distinctions.where aWomanfitsIof fury, theyremember nohave actually known a casehas exterminated her whole household, and half an hour

Flatland15when her rage was over and the fragments swept away, hasasked what has become of her husband and her childrenafterwards,!Obviously then a Woman is not to be irritated as long as she is in aWhen you have them in thtirposition where she can turn round.which are constructed with a view to denying them thatpower you can say and do what you like for they are then whollyimpotent for mischief, and will not remember a few minutes hence theapartments;incident for which theydeath,makeOnexceptmay beat thisnor the promises which youinmaymomentthreatening you withhave foundnecessary toorder to pacify their fury.wethe wholein theget on pretty smoothly in our domestic relations,lower strata of the Military Classes.There the want ofand discretion on the part of the husbands producesdisasters.itRelying toomuch ontactat times indescribablethe offensive weapons of their acute anglesinstead of the defensive organs of good sense and seasonable simulations,these reckless creatures too often neglect the prescribed construction of theWomen's apartments,or irritate their wivesbyill-advisedandfor literal truth indisposesstolid regardthemtomake those lavishmoment pacify hispromises by which the more judicious Circle can in aThe result is massacre not however withoutconsort.its;asiteliminates theby many of ourregarded as onemore brutal and troublesome of theCirclesthe destructivenessamong manyexpressionsMoreover a bluntout of doors, which they refuse immediately to retract.of theadvantages,Isosceles;andThinner Sexisprovidential arrangements for suppressingredundant population, and nipping Revolution in the bud.Yet even in our best regulated and most approximately circular familiescannot say that the ideal of family life is so high as with you in Spaceland.There is peace, in so far as the absence of slaughter may be called by thatIname, but therecautiouswisdomisnecessarilylittleharmony oftastes or pursuits;and theof the Circles has ensured safety at the cost of domestic

1Flatland6In every Circular or Polygonal householdcomfort.from time immemorialwomenthethat the mothersof our higher classesconstantly keep their eyes and mouths towards theirfriends;andforithas been a habitand has now become a kind ofinstincta lady in a family of distinction to turn her back upon herhusband would be regarded as a kind of portent, involvingBut, assoon shew, this custom, thoughnot without its disadvantages.I shallsafety, isamongand daughters shouldhusband and his maleIn the house of the WorkingManitor respectableloss of status.has the advantage ofTradesmanwhere theallowed to turn her back upon her husband, while pursuing herhousehold avocations there are at least intervals of quiet, when the wifewifeisisneither seen nor heard, except for thehumming soundof the continuoushomes of the upper classes there is tooPeace-crypeace. There the voluble mouth and bright penetrating eye;butin thedirected towards the Master of the householdmoreskillpersistentwhichaWoman's mouthWoman's;sting areareTheeverisnottactanditselflightthan the stream of feminine discourse.suffice to avertof stopping a;andoften nounequal to the taskand as the wife has absolutely nothingand absolutely no constraint of wit, sense, or conscience toprevent her from saying it, not a few cynics have been found to avertosay,thatthey prefer the dangerof the death-dealingto the safe sonorousness of aTo myWoman'sbutinaudiblestingother end.readers in Spaceland the condition of ourWomen mayseemAMale of the lowest type of themay look forward to some improvement of his angle, and to theultimate elevation of the whole of his degraded caste but no Woman cantruly deplorable,and so indeedit is.Isosceles;"Once a Woman, always a Woman" is aDecree of Nature and the very Laws of Evolution seem suspended in herYet at least we can admire the wise Prearrangement which hasdisfavour.entertain such hopes for her sex.;ordained that, as they have no hopes, so they shall have nomemoryto

Flatlandrecall,and no forethought toanticipate, the1miseries7and humiliationswhich are at once a necessity of their existence and the basis of theconstitution of Flatland.5.Ofour methodsof recognizing oneanother.You, who are blessed with shade as well as light, you who are giftedwith two eyes, endowed with a knowledge of perspective, and charmedwith the enjoyment of various colours, you, who can actually see an angle,and contemplate the complete circumference of a Circle in the happyregion of the Three Dimensions how shall I make clear to you theextreme difficulty which we in Flatland experience in recognizing oneanother's configurationsRecall what?you above. All beings in Flatland, animate orinanimate, no matter what their form, present to our view the same, orItoldnearly the same, appearance,viz.that of a straight Line.Howthen canone be distinguished from another, where all appear the same ?The answer is threefold. The first means of recognition is the sense ofhearing;which with usisfarmore highly developed than with you, andwhich enables us not only to distinguish by the voice our personalbut even to discriminate between different classes, at least sofriends,farasconcerns the three lowest orders, the Equilateral, the Square, and thePentagon for of the Isosceles I take no account. But as we ascend inthe social scale, the process of discriminating and being discriminatedby hearingincreasesin difficulty, partlybecause voices are assimilated,partly because the faculty of voice-discriminationmuch developed amongwe cannotof imposturethe Aristocracy.trust to thisisa plebeian virtue notAnd wherevermethod.the vocal organs are developed to a degreethereAmongstisany dangerour lowest orders,more than correspondentwith those of hearing, so that an Isosceles can easily feign the voice of a

Flatlandi8Polygon, and, with some training, that of a Circle himself.method is therefore more commonly resortedFeeling is, among our Women and lowerclasses I shall speak presentlyevents between strangers, andAsecondto.classesabout our upperthe principal test of recognition, atwhen the questionallnot as to the individual,is,therefore " introduction" is among the higher"" Permit"meclasses in Spaceland, that the process of feeling is with us.but as to theWhatclass."is s

FLATLAND PARTI THISWORLD i.OftheNatureofFlatland. ke gedtolive .