George and I Spend a Few Hours Together at the Statues, and Then Part—I Reach Home—Postscript explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Satire of Institutions

  The King's manipulation of Sunchildism, the canonization process, and the Musical Bank gentlemen satirize institutional hypocrisy and political expediency.

• Hypocrisy and Deception

  Hanky's false claims of royal favor, George's anonymous newspaper article, and the King's gradual deflation of Sunchildism all exemplify deception.

• Family and Legacy

  The narrator fulfills his father's dying wish to deliver gold and brooches to George, reinforcing the theme of familial bonds and inheritance.

• Cultural Relativism

  The date confusion due to different leap year systems underscores the cultural differences between England and Erewhon.

Characters to notice

• George

  Meets the narrator at the statues, shares the King's response to the Sunchild affair, accepts his father's legacy, and later becomes Prime Minister.

• My Father

  Mentioned as the Sunchild whose legacy and belongings are discussed; his dying wish to send gold and brooches to George is fulfilled.

• Professor Hanky

  Described as furious and humiliated during the King's interview, yet impenitent and spreading false claims afterward.

• Professor Panky

  Remains silent during the King's interview; later noted as dead, succeeded by his son Pocus.

• Dr. Downie

  Advised the King to proceed gradually; declined canonization; described as shrewdly following the 'jumping cat.'

• Yram

  George's mother, who packed a basket for the meeting at the statues.

• President Gurgoyle

  Referred to as the King who interviews the characters and decides to let Sunchildism fade gradually.

• Bishop Kahabuka

  Mentioned as a messenger for George's letters and as an old friend of the narrator's father.

Key passages

• “I have said on an earlier page that George gained an immediate ascendancy over me, but ascendancy is not the word—he took me by storm; how, or why, I neither know nor want to know, but before I had been with him more than a few minutes I felt as though I had known and loved him all my life.”

  The narrator feels an instant, profound connection with George, as if they have known each other forever.

  Highlights the deep bond between the half-brothers.

• “He said he would have them carefully preserved in his secret archives. ‘A document,’ he said somewhat enigmatically, ‘is a document—but, Professor Hanky, you can have this’—and as he spoke he handed him back his pocket-handkerchief.”

  The King dismissively returns Hanky's handkerchief instead of the documents, mocking his pretensions.

  Satirizes the King's disdain for Hanky and the trivialization of official records.

• “He worships the jumping cat as much as the others, but he keeps his eye better on the cat, and sees sooner both when it will jump, and where it will jump to.”

  Dr. Downie is as superstitious as others but more adept at anticipating and adapting to changing trends.

  Metaphor for political and social opportunism.

• “The year XX had been a leap year with the Erewhonians, and 1891 in England had not. This, then, was what had crossed my father’s brain in his dying hours, and what he had vainly tried to tell me.”

  The date discrepancy arises because Erewhon had a leap year when England did not, explaining the father's confused final words.

  Resolves a plot mystery and underscores cultural differences.

• “The King and I both think that annexation by England, or a British Protectorate, would be the saving of us, for we have no army worth the name, and if you do not take us over someone else soon will.”

  George and the King believe Erewhon needs British annexation to avoid being conquered by another power.

  Reflects colonial themes and Erewhon's vulnerability.