The Children of Men
Chapter 20
by James, P. D.The protagonist returns to his Oxford home after a summer abroad, finding it neglected and suffocating, with an atmosphere of decay. The house, filled with unopened mail and dust, mirrors his inner desolation. His travels through Europe, meticulously recorded in his diary, were devoid of joy or discovery, serving only as an escape from unresolved turmoil. Despite visiting iconic cities and landmarks, he felt no connection, realizing too late that his emotional burdens had followed him.
In Ravello, he sought solace in a quiet hotel, but peace remained elusive. His most poignant memory is of Rome, where he witnessed desperate women praying before Michelangelo’s Pietà, their collective anguish a stark reflection of universal suffering. This image haunts him, underscoring his own isolation. Back in Oxford, the city feels unfamiliar and unwelcoming, its inhabitants distant and the atmosphere tense. His colleagues’ indifference and Helena’s cold dismissal deepen his sense of alienation.
Helena reveals unsettling rumors about dissidents opposing the government’s “Quietus” policy, including plans to free convicts and challenge the Warden’s rule. Theo dismisses these claims as absurd, but the conversation highlights the growing unrest beneath Oxford’s stagnant surface. Helena’s abrupt end to their call underscores her detachment, leaving Theo adrift in his loneliness. The chapter paints a bleak picture of a society fraying at the edges, with Theo caught in its unraveling.
A recurring nightmare intensifies Theo’s unease, now featuring Luke accusing him of Julian’s death. The dream’s vivid horror leaves him paralyzed with guilt and fear, mirroring his waking helplessness. Despite his attempts to resume normalcy, he feels watched and isolated, though no overt surveillance appears. His decision to run to Binsey Church suggests a futile search for answers or redemption, hinting at deeper conflicts to come. The chapter closes with Theo trapped in a cycle of dread and inertia, his personal turmoil reflecting the broader decay of his world.
FAQs
1. How does the protagonist’s return to Oxford reflect the broader themes of decay and isolation in the chapter?
Answer:
The protagonist’s return to Oxford highlights themes of decay and isolation through vivid descriptions of his neglected home and the changed atmosphere of the city. His house is musty, unaired, and littered with unopened post, symbolizing abandonment and decline. The once-familiar Oxford now feels alien, with empty quads and colleagues who avoid him, amplifying his loneliness. The “bleached and exhausted” city mirrors his internal state, suggesting a world—and a man—in decline. This physical and emotional decay reflects the novel’s broader themes of societal collapse and human disconnection in a dying world.
2. What significance does the protagonist’s trip to Europe hold, and how does it contrast with his reality in Oxford?
Answer:
The protagonist’s European trip was an attempt to escape his inner turmoil, but it was joyless and methodical, devoid of the wonder or discovery typical of travel. He visited cultural landmarks like the Pietà in Rome, where he witnessed profound collective grief, yet remained emotionally detached. In contrast, Oxford represents an inescapable reality—his homecoming underscores his failure to flee his psychological burdens. The trip’s sterile comfort contrasts sharply with Oxford’s decay, emphasizing that his true struggle lies within, not in external landscapes.
3. Analyze the role of Helena’s conversation in revealing the political tensions in the novel’s world.
Answer:
Helena’s brief, dismissive exchange with the protagonist reveals a society under strain. She mentions “dissidents” sabotaging the Quietus (a state-sanctioned euthanasia program) and rumors of rebellion, hinting at widespread unrest. Her apathy (“Everything used to be so peaceful”) reflects societal desensitization to violence, while the protagonist’s surprise suggests his disconnection. This dialogue underscores the oppressive regime’s fragility and the growing resistance, framing the protagonist’s personal crisis within a larger political collapse.
4. How does the recurring nightmare about Luke and Julian deepen the protagonist’s psychological conflict?
Answer:
The nightmare—featuring Luke’s accusing stare and Rolf’s cries of “You’ve killed Julian!“—reveals the protagonist’s unresolved guilt and trauma. Unlike earlier dreams of his father, this version implicates him directly in Julian’s fate, merging past and present horrors. The locked-car imagery symbolizes his paralysis in confronting his actions. This nightmare’s persistence exacerbates his isolation, as he fears surveillance yet receives none, leaving him trapped in a cycle of dread and self-reproach.
5. Why might the protagonist’s visit to Binsey Church hold symbolic importance, despite his awareness of its risks?
Answer:
Binsey Church represents a quest for redemption or answers, tied to Julian’s death and the dissidents’ activities. His compulsion to return—despite fearing surveillance—suggests a need to confront his role in the resistance or his guilt. The church’s quietude contrasts with his nightmares, offering a space for reckoning. By revisiting a site linked to trauma, he may unconsciously seek closure or a way to reengage with the fractured world around him.
Quotes
1. “The house itself seemed to be disintegrating before his eyes.”
This quote captures the protagonist’s profound sense of decay and neglect upon returning home, mirroring both the physical deterioration of his surroundings and his own internal disintegration. It sets the tone for the chapter’s exploration of personal and societal decline.
2. “This was a journey of escape, not a pilgrimage in search of forgotten sensations. But he knew now that the part of him from which he most needed to escape had remained in Oxford.”
This reveals the futility of the protagonist’s travels and his inability to outrun his inner turmoil. The quote highlights the novel’s central theme of inescapable personal and societal crises.
3. “He remembered their outstretched arms, their palms pressed against the glass protective shield, the low continual mutter of their prayers as if this ceaseless anguished moan came from a single throat and carried to that unregarding marble the hopeless longing of all the world.”
This powerful description of people praying before the Pietà in Rome encapsulates the collective despair of humanity in the novel’s dystopian world. The religious imagery underscores the depth of their yearning for salvation.
4. “He had returned to his own city, his own familiar place, yet was revisited by that peculiar and unfamiliar unease which he supposed could only be called loneliness.”
This quote poignantly expresses the protagonist’s alienation and the fundamental isolation that characterizes the novel’s dystopian society. It marks a turning point in his emotional journey.
5. “He sat there staring with blank eyes through the windscreen at Luke’s accusing figure, waiting for the door to be wrenched open, for hands to drag him out and confront him with the horror of what he, and he alone, had done.”
This nightmare sequence reveals the protagonist’s deep-seated guilt and psychological torment. The visceral imagery foreshadows coming confrontations with past actions and their consequences.