Samuel Butler publishes <i>Erewhon</i>

Samuel Butler publishes Erewhon

1872. Samuel Butler anonymously publishes Erewhon: or, Over the Range, a bitingly satiric novel criticizing social Darwinism and eugenic utopias in the Victorian Era.

Butler's novel Erewhon tells the story of a protagonist who journeys across an unexplored mountain range. He must pass a number of statues of exceeding beauty, and finds the utopian land of Erewhon (the word Nowhere, spelled backwards). The book was partially based on Butler's experiences as a sheep-farmer in New Zealand (Claeys, 2010), and is generally considered a dual satire on religion (the section of the book entitled "Musical Banks"), and industrial civilization, social conventions, and scientific orthodoxy (the section of the book entitled "The Book of the Machines") (Claeys, 2010 ; Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S., 2004).

Many parts of Erewhon play on eugenic principles. For instance, the statues represent the origin of eugenic practices in Erewhon (Claeys, 2010). Erewhonians used to sacrifice ugly and diseased citizens to the statues, until the people were strong, beautiful, and healthy enough to make such practices no longer necessary (Claeys, 2010). In later Erewhon, those who are ugly or diseased are convicted of a crime, and are put in hospitals, which serve as a kind of workhouse or jail (Cubbitt & Thomas, 2013 ; Claeys, 2010 ; Gillott, 2011), creating a kind of eugenic court (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

One of the most interesting explorations Butler introduces in Erewhon is the relationship of machines to evolutionary theory in "The Book of the Machines". In Erewhon, sophisticated machinery is forbidden (Claeys, 2010), and a civil war was raged against machines some 500 years earlier (Gillott, 2011). This war was raged because of the evolutionary capacity of machinery, a parody on Darwin's The Origin of Species (Furlani, 2007), enabling machines to reach a point where mankind would die out (Gillott, 2011). As a result, it was decided that machines should be destroyed, but mankind's dependency on machines meant that only highly-developed machines from the last 271 years were destroyed (Gillott, 2011). The book has frequently been read as a warning about the hazards of technology (Furlani, 2007), but also touches on themes of artificial intelligence. It also raises questions such as the line between human and machine (especially if mankind cannot exist without machines), who has the right to live if consciousness is described as a kind of humanity, how evolution can be controlled, and the adverse affects of machines on human evolution.

The removal of machinery has interesting consequences, not only on the evolution of the machine, but on the evolution of man. As a consequence, the poor can no longer function as easily, and are more often put in hospitals (Gillott, 2011). Erewhonians are a beautiful people, and part of the fear of allowing machines to evolve was that men would be made equal, and natural selection would cease to shape humanity (Gillott, 2011 ; Butler, 1872), resulting in the transmission of "inferiority" to descendants, and a "degeneracy" of both body and the human race (Butler, 1872), leaving nothing but "soul and mechanism" (Butler, 1872). Bodies remain beautiful because of rescue from machinery (Furlani, 2007), and the purity of the human race is preserved (Gillott, 2011). Butler felt that the goal of evolution was to reach a state of "good breeding, health, looks, temper, and fortune" (Butler, as cited in Gillott, 2011).

Erewhon has largely been interpreted as a satire on The Origin of Species (Cantor, & Shuttleworth, 2004), and indeed, Darwin's language was used comically in the novel, and critically (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). Mankind is even compared to machines, in that organs and limbs were in some way "manufactured" for evolutionary advantage (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). However, Butler admired Darwin, and wrote to him expressing gratitude for the intellectual doors Darwin's work on evolutionary theory opened (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

When Erewhon was first published, it was not much noticed (Claeys, 2010), but it became a classic by the early twentieth century (Claeys, 2010). The book inspired a sequel, named Erewhon revisited by Samuel Butler, and re-imaginings, such as by Guy Davenport (Furlani, 2007). Many authors were influenced by the novel, including George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, among others.

This book has entered the public domain and is available as an ebook.

-Colette Leung and Amy Dyrbye

  • Butler, S. (1872). Erewhon: or, Over the Range. London: Trübner.

  • Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S. (2004). Science Serialized: Representation of the Sciences in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

  • Claeys, G. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature. Cambrigdge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Cubitt, S., & Thomas, P. (Eds.). (2013). Relive: Media art histories. Cambridge: MIT Press.

  • Furlani, A. (2007). Guy Davenport: Postmodernism and After. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

  • Gillott, D. (2011). Death by Mangle: Domestic Thecnology and Eugenics in Samuel Butler's Erewhon. Dandelion, 2(1). Retrieved from: http://dandelionjournal.org/index.php/dandelion/article/view/38/76

Samuel Butler publishes <i>Erewhon</i>

Samuel Butler publishes Erewhon

1872. Samuel Butler anonymously publishes Erewhon: or, Over the Range, a bitingly satiric novel criticizing social Darwinism and eugenic utopias in the Victorian Era.

Butler's novel Erewhon tells the story of a protagonist who journeys across an unexplored mountain range. He must pass a number of statues of exceeding beauty, and finds the utopian land of Erewhon (the word Nowhere, spelled backwards). The book was partially based on Butler's experiences as a sheep-farmer in New Zealand (Claeys, 2010), and is generally considered a dual satire on religion (the section of the book entitled "Musical Banks"), and industrial civilization, social conventions, and scientific orthodoxy (the section of the book entitled "The Book of the Machines") (Claeys, 2010 ; Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S., 2004).

Many parts of Erewhon play on eugenic principles. For instance, the statues represent the origin of eugenic practices in Erewhon (Claeys, 2010). Erewhonians used to sacrifice ugly and diseased citizens to the statues, until the people were strong, beautiful, and healthy enough to make such practices no longer necessary (Claeys, 2010). In later Erewhon, those who are ugly or diseased are convicted of a crime, and are put in hospitals, which serve as a kind of workhouse or jail (Cubbitt & Thomas, 2013 ; Claeys, 2010 ; Gillott, 2011), creating a kind of eugenic court (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

One of the most interesting explorations Butler introduces in Erewhon is the relationship of machines to evolutionary theory in "The Book of the Machines". In Erewhon, sophisticated machinery is forbidden (Claeys, 2010), and a civil war was raged against machines some 500 years earlier (Gillott, 2011). This war was raged because of the evolutionary capacity of machinery, a parody on Darwin's The Origin of Species (Furlani, 2007), enabling machines to reach a point where mankind would die out (Gillott, 2011). As a result, it was decided that machines should be destroyed, but mankind's dependency on machines meant that only highly-developed machines from the last 271 years were destroyed (Gillott, 2011). The book has frequently been read as a warning about the hazards of technology (Furlani, 2007), but also touches on themes of artificial intelligence. It also raises questions such as the line between human and machine (especially if mankind cannot exist without machines), who has the right to live if consciousness is described as a kind of humanity, how evolution can be controlled, and the adverse affects of machines on human evolution.

The removal of machinery has interesting consequences, not only on the evolution of the machine, but on the evolution of man. As a consequence, the poor can no longer function as easily, and are more often put in hospitals (Gillott, 2011). Erewhonians are a beautiful people, and part of the fear of allowing machines to evolve was that men would be made equal, and natural selection would cease to shape humanity (Gillott, 2011 ; Butler, 1872), resulting in the transmission of "inferiority" to descendants, and a "degeneracy" of both body and the human race (Butler, 1872), leaving nothing but "soul and mechanism" (Butler, 1872). Bodies remain beautiful because of rescue from machinery (Furlani, 2007), and the purity of the human race is preserved (Gillott, 2011). Butler felt that the goal of evolution was to reach a state of "good breeding, health, looks, temper, and fortune" (Butler, as cited in Gillott, 2011).

Erewhon has largely been interpreted as a satire on The Origin of Species (Cantor, & Shuttleworth, 2004), and indeed, Darwin's language was used comically in the novel, and critically (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). Mankind is even compared to machines, in that organs and limbs were in some way "manufactured" for evolutionary advantage (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). However, Butler admired Darwin, and wrote to him expressing gratitude for the intellectual doors Darwin's work on evolutionary theory opened (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

When Erewhon was first published, it was not much noticed (Claeys, 2010), but it became a classic by the early twentieth century (Claeys, 2010). The book inspired a sequel, named Erewhon revisited by Samuel Butler, and re-imaginings, such as by Guy Davenport (Furlani, 2007). Many authors were influenced by the novel, including George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, among others.

This book has entered the public domain and is available as an ebook.

-Colette Leung and Amy Dyrbye

  • Butler, S. (1872). Erewhon: or, Over the Range. London: Trübner.

  • Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S. (2004). Science Serialized: Representation of the Sciences in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

  • Claeys, G. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature. Cambrigdge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Cubitt, S., & Thomas, P. (Eds.). (2013). Relive: Media art histories. Cambridge: MIT Press.

  • Furlani, A. (2007). Guy Davenport: Postmodernism and After. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

  • Gillott, D. (2011). Death by Mangle: Domestic Thecnology and Eugenics in Samuel Butler's Erewhon. Dandelion, 2(1). Retrieved from: http://dandelionjournal.org/index.php/dandelion/article/view/38/76

Samuel Butler publishes Erewhon

1872. Samuel Butler anonymously publishes Erewhon: or, Over the Range, a bitingly satiric novel criticizing social Darwinism and eugenic utopias in the Victorian Era.

Butler's novel Erewhon tells the story of a protagonist who journeys across an unexplored mountain range. He must pass a number of statues of exceeding beauty, and finds the utopian land of Erewhon (the word Nowhere, spelled backwards). The book was partially based on Butler's experiences as a sheep-farmer in New Zealand (Claeys, 2010), and is generally considered a dual satire on religion (the section of the book entitled "Musical Banks"), and industrial civilization, social conventions, and scientific orthodoxy (the section of the book entitled "The Book of the Machines") (Claeys, 2010 ; Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S., 2004).

Many parts of Erewhon play on eugenic principles. For instance, the statues represent the origin of eugenic practices in Erewhon (Claeys, 2010). Erewhonians used to sacrifice ugly and diseased citizens to the statues, until the people were strong, beautiful, and healthy enough to make such practices no longer necessary (Claeys, 2010). In later Erewhon, those who are ugly or diseased are convicted of a crime, and are put in hospitals, which serve as a kind of workhouse or jail (Cubbitt & Thomas, 2013 ; Claeys, 2010 ; Gillott, 2011), creating a kind of eugenic court (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

One of the most interesting explorations Butler introduces in Erewhon is the relationship of machines to evolutionary theory in "The Book of the Machines". In Erewhon, sophisticated machinery is forbidden (Claeys, 2010), and a civil war was raged against machines some 500 years earlier (Gillott, 2011). This war was raged because of the evolutionary capacity of machinery, a parody on Darwin's The Origin of Species (Furlani, 2007), enabling machines to reach a point where mankind would die out (Gillott, 2011). As a result, it was decided that machines should be destroyed, but mankind's dependency on machines meant that only highly-developed machines from the last 271 years were destroyed (Gillott, 2011). The book has frequently been read as a warning about the hazards of technology (Furlani, 2007), but also touches on themes of artificial intelligence. It also raises questions such as the line between human and machine (especially if mankind cannot exist without machines), who has the right to live if consciousness is described as a kind of humanity, how evolution can be controlled, and the adverse affects of machines on human evolution.

The removal of machinery has interesting consequences, not only on the evolution of the machine, but on the evolution of man. As a consequence, the poor can no longer function as easily, and are more often put in hospitals (Gillott, 2011). Erewhonians are a beautiful people, and part of the fear of allowing machines to evolve was that men would be made equal, and natural selection would cease to shape humanity (Gillott, 2011 ; Butler, 1872), resulting in the transmission of "inferiority" to descendants, and a "degeneracy" of both body and the human race (Butler, 1872), leaving nothing but "soul and mechanism" (Butler, 1872). Bodies remain beautiful because of rescue from machinery (Furlani, 2007), and the purity of the human race is preserved (Gillott, 2011). Butler felt that the goal of evolution was to reach a state of "good breeding, health, looks, temper, and fortune" (Butler, as cited in Gillott, 2011).

Erewhon has largely been interpreted as a satire on The Origin of Species (Cantor, & Shuttleworth, 2004), and indeed, Darwin's language was used comically in the novel, and critically (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). Mankind is even compared to machines, in that organs and limbs were in some way "manufactured" for evolutionary advantage (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004). However, Butler admired Darwin, and wrote to him expressing gratitude for the intellectual doors Darwin's work on evolutionary theory opened (Cantor & Shuttleworth, 2004).

When Erewhon was first published, it was not much noticed (Claeys, 2010), but it became a classic by the early twentieth century (Claeys, 2010). The book inspired a sequel, named Erewhon revisited by Samuel Butler, and re-imaginings, such as by Guy Davenport (Furlani, 2007). Many authors were influenced by the novel, including George Bernard Shaw, George Orwell, Frank Herbert, Anne McCaffrey, among others.

This book has entered the public domain and is available as an ebook.

-Colette Leung and Amy Dyrbye

  • Butler, S. (1872). Erewhon: or, Over the Range. London: Trübner.

  • Cantor, G., & Shuttleworth, S. (2004). Science Serialized: Representation of the Sciences in Nineteenth-Century Periodicals. Cambridge: The MIT Press.

  • Claeys, G. (2010). The Cambridge Companion to Utopian Literature. Cambrigdge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Cubitt, S., & Thomas, P. (Eds.). (2013). Relive: Media art histories. Cambridge: MIT Press.

  • Furlani, A. (2007). Guy Davenport: Postmodernism and After. Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

  • Gillott, D. (2011). Death by Mangle: Domestic Thecnology and Eugenics in Samuel Butler's Erewhon. Dandelion, 2(1). Retrieved from: http://dandelionjournal.org/index.php/dandelion/article/view/38/76