# V: My Father Meets a Son, of Whose Existence He Was Ignorant; and Strikes a Bargain with Him explained — Erewhon Revisited

> Chapter companion for Erewhon Revisited by Samuel Butler.

## What happens

My father, Higgs, returns to the camp after overhearing the professors, piecing together that the Erewhonians have deified him as the Sunchild and created a new calendar and religion around his balloon ascent. He meets a young man who turns out to be his son by Yram, now the Head Ranger, and strikes a bargain with him: if Higgs reveals himself and is killed, the son will honor him as his father. Higgs then reflects on the new religious system, the upcoming temple dedication, and his plan to witness it before escaping.

## Themes in this chapter

### Religion and Credulity

The Erewhonians have deified Higgs and created a mythology around his balloon flight, showing how ignorance and myth spawn religion.

### Hypocrisy and Deception

Both the Bridgeford professors and the Sunch'ston people dare not speak their true beliefs, hiding skepticism behind public conformity.

### Family and Legacy

Higgs discovers he has a son with Yram and strikes a bargain with him, grappling with paternity and his legacy as the Sunchild.

## Character check-ins

### My Father

Higgs learns he is the Sunchild, meets his unknown son, and bargains with him; he reflects on the new religion and plans to see the temple dedication.

### George

The young Head Ranger, Yram's son, who angrily denounces the Sunchild but agrees to honor Higgs if he reveals himself.

### Yram

Now the Mayoress of Sunch'ston, married to the Mayor; Higgs infers she married soon after his departure, and her son is the Head Ranger.

### Professor Hanky

One of the Bridgeford professors whose conversation Higgs overheard, providing key information about the new religion and the temple.

### Professor Panky

The other professor; his reversed clothes and watch are noted by Higgs as clues to Erewhonian changes.

## Key lines

> My son—for considering the difference in our ages I may be allowed to call you so—we at Bridgeford are much like you at Sunch’ston; we dare not always say what we think.

Higgs tells the young man that both Bridgeford and Sunch'ston people hide their true opinions out of fear.

_Higgs reveals the hypocrisy of both communities._

> Let him come; let him show himself, speak out and die, if the people choose to kill him. In that case I would forgive him, accept him for my father, as silly people sometimes say he is, and honour him to my dying day.

The young man vows to acknowledge Higgs as his father only if Higgs publicly reveals himself and faces the consequences.

_The son sets a condition for accepting Higgs as his father._

> Plainly, the Sunchild, or child of the sun, was none other than himself, and the new name of Coldharbour was doubtless intended to commemorate the fact that this was the first town he had reached in Erewhon.

Higgs realizes that the Erewhonians have deified him and renamed Coldharbour in his honor.

_Higgs understands his new divine status._

> What wonder, then, that the mushroom spawn of myth, ever present in an atmosphere highly charged with ignorance, had germinated in a soil so favourably prepared for its reception?

Higgs reflects that myths naturally arise in a culture steeped in ignorance.

_Higgs explains the origin of the Sunchild myth._

## Links

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