Time may be linear in The Wanting Seed, but human social history isn't. Like some historians and social theorists before him, Tristram believes in a cyclical model of history: a never-ending, recurring cycle of shifts from one social order (Pelagianism) to another (Augustinianism) and back again. As if to illustrate Tristram's point, the novel adopts this cyclical structure too, rapidly moving its characters (and readers!) through a full turn of the wheel.
Questions About Time
- Does the cyclical model of history that Tristram teaches his students leave any scope for human progress?
- Are individual actions and choices considered significant in the cyclical model of history?
- In The Wanting Seed, which of the two phases, the Pelphase in the first half of the novel, or the Gusphase in the second, seems more "futuristic?" Which seems more familiar?
Chew on This
Tristram's fellow citizens might think that with every major shift in social order, they're moving forward into progressively better ways of organizing themselves in the world. According to Tristram, though, they're simply moving through a never-ending cycle. Ultimately, The Wanting Seed supports Tristram's point of view, and suggests that human progress is an illusion.
The cyclical model of history that The Wanting Seed explores suggests that individual people can't do much to change the state of the world. All they can do, the novel suggests, is live their own lives in whatever way seems best.