The Children of Men
Chapter 19
by James, P. D.The narrator encounters a woman in the market, whom he had previously met at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Struck by her radiant presence as she selects fruit, he is overwhelmed by an irrational, almost childish urge to shower her with flowers, a feeling he finds both unsettling and unfamiliar. Despite his internal struggle, he follows her through the crowded market, wrestling with the absurdity of his actions and the realization that he knows little about her, except that she is married and indifferent to him. Their brief interaction is marked by his awkward attempts to engage her, revealing his growing emotional turmoil.
As they walk together, the narrator warns the woman that the SSP (a security force) is investigating her group, urging her to cease her activities or flee for her safety. She responds with detached practicality, acknowledging the risk but showing no intention of stopping. Her tired expression hints at the toll her secretive work has taken. Despite her dismissive attitude, the narrator impulsively offers his help, promising to be there if she ever needs him, though he knows nothing about her life or how to find her. Their parting is final, leaving him with a sense of unresolved longing.
Reflecting later, the narrator confronts his own emotional emptiness, admitting he has never experienced love. At fifty, he views this lack as a permanent void, likening it to a tone-deaf man’s inability to appreciate music. Resigned to the bleakness of his world, he decides to escape, planning a solitary journey across Europe while it is still possible. He resolves to leave behind his memories of the woman, the oppressive regime, and the decaying city, though his promise to her lingers as a fragile, unfulfilled commitment.
The chapter closes with the narrator’s determination to sever ties with his past, including tearing the journal entry documenting his feelings. He rationalizes his actions as necessary for self-preservation, doubting the woman will ever seek his help. The transition to “Book Two—Alpha” suggests a shift in time and perspective, leaving the narrator’s fate and the woman’s story unresolved as the narrative moves forward.
FAQs
1. How does the narrator’s encounter with the woman in the market reveal his internal conflict and emotional state?
Answer:
The narrator experiences a profound internal conflict when he sees the woman in the market, torn between rational self-restraint and overwhelming emotional impulses. He describes irrational urges to buy her flowers and carry her bag, feelings he dismisses as “childish and ridiculous” yet finds disturbingly powerful. His self-awareness of these emotions—comparing them to adolescent infatuation—highlights his discomfort with vulnerability. The passage reveals his struggle between longing and self-preservation, as he both follows her and chastises himself for behaving like a “fool.” This moment underscores his emotional isolation and the destabilizing effect of unexpected desire in his otherwise controlled life.2. What does the interaction between the narrator and the woman suggest about their relationship and the broader societal context?
Answer:
Their tense, coded conversation reflects a relationship constrained by secrecy and danger. The woman’s fatigue and refusal to engage deeply (“Please go… it’s better we don’t see each other”) hint at her involvement in risky activities (possibly resistance against the SSP). The narrator’s warning about the SSP tracking “a group of five” implies a dystopian society with surveillance and repression. Their parting—where he offers help despite planning to flee—reveals a disconnect between personal emotion and societal collapse. The woman’s pragmatic detachment contrasts with his romanticized perception of her earlier (“lit by a warm southern sun”), emphasizing how survival priorities override connection in their world.3. Analyze the significance of the narrator’s decision to travel abroad. How does this reflect the novel’s themes?
Answer:
The narrator’s planned escape to Europe symbolizes both privilege and despair. His ability to secure travel permits as the “Warden’s cousin” critiques a hierarchical society where connections outweigh merit. His desire to see cathedrals and cities “before roads are impassable” mirrors the novel’s theme of civilizational decay, while his dismissal of teaching (“no enthusiasm to communicate”) reflects widespread apathy in a dying world. Notably, he frames travel as an act of forgetting—avoiding memories of the woman and the “transience of youth, of learning, of love.” This underscores the central tension between clinging to beauty and succumbing to nihilism in a “doomed and joyless planet.”4. How does the chapter use sensory details to contrast vitality and decay? Provide specific examples.
Answer:
Vibrant sensory imagery—the “golden, pitted globes of oranges,” “gleaming curves of bananas”—initially bathes the woman in a glow of abundance, symbolizing fleeting vitality. This contrasts with the narrator’s later observations of her tired face, “drained” under harsh lights, mirroring societal exhaustion. The “savoury and strong” smell of pies evokes nostalgia for a functional past, while his clinical description of passport stamps and petrol shortages underscores present decay. The juxtaposition heightens the tragedy: even in moments of sensory richness (fruit, flowers), the narrative returns to entropy (SSP surveillance, failing infrastructure), reinforcing the world’s irreversible decline.5. Evaluate the narrator’s claim: “I am fifty years old and I have never known what it is to love.” How does this admission shape his character?
Answer:
This confession reveals his emotional stasis and self-deception. While he claims indifference (“regret less keen because it is for something never known”), his actions—following the woman, offering help, and later retracting it—betray deep yearning. His comparison to a “tone-deaf man” suggests resigned alienation, yet his journal’s conflicted tone (calling his promise “madness” while preserving it) undermines his stoicism. This contradiction positions him as tragically self-aware yet paralyzed, embodying the novel’s exploration of human connection in crisis. His planned escape, framed as pragmatism, reads as emotional retreat, confirming fear outweighs desire in his worldview.
Quotes
1. “I saw her in a glow of effulgent colour, skin and hair seeming to absorb radiance from the fruit, as if she were lit not by the hard glaring lights of the store, but by a warm southern sun.”
This vivid description captures the narrator’s intense, almost mystical attraction to the woman, portraying her as a luminous figure amidst the mundane setting of a market. It reveals the depth of his unexpected emotional response, which unsettles him.
2. “It was a romantic impulse, childish and ridiculous, which I hadn’t felt since I was a boy. I had distrusted and resented it then. Now it appalled me by its strength, its irrationality, its destructive potential.”
The narrator reflects on his overwhelming urge to shower the woman with flowers, acknowledging the irrationality of his feelings. This quote highlights his internal conflict and fear of vulnerability, themes central to his character.
3. “I am fifty years old and I have never known what it is to love. I can write those words, know them to be true, but feel only the regret that a tone-deaf man must feel because he can’t appreciate music, a regret less keen because it is for something never known, not for something lost.”
A poignant admission of emotional emptiness, this quote underscores the narrator’s existential melancholy. It contrasts his earlier surge of feeling with his lifelong detachment, framing love as an unattainable experience in his bleak world.
4. “Fifty is not an age to invite the turbulence of love, particularly not on this doomed and joyless planet when man goes to his last rest and all desire fades.”
This bleak observation ties personal despair to the novel’s dystopian backdrop, where humanity faces extinction. The narrator rationalizes his emotional withdrawal as both age-appropriate and contextually inevitable in a dying world.
5. “I shall try to forget this morning’s promise. It was made in a moment of madness. I don’t suppose she will take it up. If she does, she will find this house empty.”
The chapter closes with this resigned declaration, revealing the narrator’s decision to flee both his emotions and societal collapse. It foreshadows future events while emphasizing his self-protective instincts.