In The Wanting Seed, the people of England no longer think of themselves as the heart of the British Empire, but instead as one group among the larger "Enspun"—the English-Speaking Union. Just as national borders seem not to matter so much in this portrait of England's future, so too are distinctions between racial and ethnic categories supposedly unimportant. Scratch below the surface, though, and you'll find that the old traditions and perspectives of the British Empire haven't quite disappeared. Racism, as it turns out, is still very much a part of this society.
Questions About Race
- Does the novel justify Beatrice-Joanna's white supremacism, or do its ironic and satirical tones help to challenge it?
- Are race and racialization more noticeable in the first half of the novel, or in the second? Why do you think that is?
- What is the significance of racial diversity in the novel overall?
Chew on This
In The Wanting Seed, racial diversity is associated with the decline of the British Empire. The novel suggests that just as the people of England have lost sight of the values that once shaped English society, so too have they forgotten the best of Anglo-Saxon and Celtic culture.
Although The Wanting Seed seems to mourn the loss of traditional English values and culture, in fact, the novel satirizes such nostalgia. The revivals of pagan festivals and fertility rites in the novel's second half present comical criticisms of white supremacists like Beatrice-Joanna, who believe that the Anglo-Saxon race is humanity's best and only hope.