Erewhon Revisited · Chapter
My Father Overhears More of Hanky and Panky’s Conversation explained
My father, having sold quails to Professors Hanky and Panky, overhears their conversation about the Sunchild, the statues, and the manipulation of religious doctrine.
What happens
My father, having sold quails to Professors Hanky and Panky, overhears their conversation about the Sunchild, the statues, and the manipulation of religious doctrine. The professors debate the correct reading of the Sunchild's prayer, revealing their cynical self-interest. They also discuss the Queen's and Yram's interpretations of the Sunchild's clothes, and Panky becomes suspicious of my father's boots, which match footprints found near the statues.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Deception
Both professors engage in self-serving deception, with Panky being a 'living lie' and Hanky using occasional frankness to disarm others.
Religion and Credulity
The professors' debate over the Sunchild's prayer highlights how religious texts are altered to suit institutional and personal agendas.
Truth and Perception
The professors argue about the correct reading of the prayer and the interpretation of the Sunchild's clothes, showing how truth is shaped by perception and power.
Characters to notice
- My Father
Sells quails to the professors, overhears their conversation, and is nearly discovered when Panky examines his boots.
- Professor Hanky
Argues with Panky about the receipt and the Sunchild's prayer; shows occasional frankness and cynicism.
- Professor Panky
Insists on a receipt, proposes a corrupt reading of the prayer, and becomes suspicious of my father's boots.
- Yram
Mentioned as a dangerous woman who nearly wrecked the professors' plans due to her obstinacy about the Sunchild's clothes.
- George
Mentioned as Yram's fair-haired eldest son, born barely seven months after marriage, and considered by some to be the Sunchild's blood.
Key passages
“Forgive us our trespasses, but do not forgive them that trespass against us.”
Panky proposes a selfish version of the Lord's Prayer, arguing that the original is impossible.
This corrupt reading reflects the professors' self-serving manipulation of religious doctrine.
“Panky was the greater humbug of the two, for he would humbug even himself—a thing, by the way, not very hard to do; and yet he was the less successful humbug, for he could humbug no one who was worth humbugging—not for long.”
Panky is a more thorough hypocrite than Hanky, but his self-deception makes him less effective at deceiving others.
The narrator contrasts the two professors' styles of hypocrisy.
“People like being deceived, but they like also to have an inkling of their own deception, and you never inkle them.”
Hanky criticizes Panky for never giving people a hint that they are being fooled, which people actually enjoy.
This reveals Hanky's cynical understanding of human nature and the art of deception.