# Ydgrun and the Ydgrunites explained — Erewhon > Chapter companion for Erewhon by Samuel Butler. ## What happens The narrator describes the Erewhonians' true religion centered on the goddess Ydgrun, a practical and powerful deity worshipped through deeds rather than formal rituals, contrasting with their superficial professed gods. He distinguishes between Ydgrunites, low Ydgrunites, and high Ydgrunites—the latter being gentlemen of high moral character who live by self-respect and consideration for others, yet lack belief in an afterlife. The narrator reflects on the difficulty of converting them and the potential consequences of displacing Ydgrun. ## Themes in this chapter ### Religion and Hypocrisy The Erewhonians' professed religion is superficial, while their true worship of Ydgrun is practical and powerful, highlighting the gap between stated beliefs and actual practice. ### Truth and Deception The narrator struggles with whether to openly share his own religious convictions with the high Ydgrunites, reflecting tensions between honesty and social harmony. ### Wealth and Social Status The high Ydgrunites are described as gentlemen of courage, honor, and good qualities, linking moral character with social standing and peer influence. ## Character check-ins ### Narrator Observes and analyzes Erewhonian religious practices, distinguishes between Ydgrunites and high Ydgrunites, and considers the challenges of conversion. ### Erewhonians Depicted as superstitious in their professed religion but deeply devoted to Ydgrun in practice, with unwritten compromises favoring Ydgrun. ### Ydgrun The central but anomalous goddess, omnipresent and omnipotent, worshipped through deeds rather than lip service, sometimes cruel but generally beneficent. ### Chowbok Mentioned in the context of the hospital where missionaries might be sent, similar to where Chowbok would have gone. ## Key lines > I could not conceive why they should not openly acknowledge high Ydgrunism, and discard the objective personality of hope, justice, etc. ; but whenever I so much as hinted at this, I found that I was on dangerous ground. The narrator cannot understand why the Erewhonians do not openly embrace Ydgrunism and abandon belief in personified virtues, but any suggestion of this is met with resistance. _Illustrates the tension between the narrator's rational perspective and the Erewhonians' attachment to traditional forms._ > They were gentlemen in the full sense of the word; and what has one not said in saying this? The high Ydgrunites embody the ideal of a gentleman, a term that encompasses all virtues. _Highlights the narrator's admiration for the high Ydgrunites and the cultural weight of the term 'gentleman.'_ > The example of a real gentleman is, if I may say so without profanity, the best of all gospels; such a man upon the stage becomes a potent humanising influence, an Ideal which all may look upon for a shilling. A true gentleman's example is the most effective moral teaching, and putting such a man on stage can inspire the public at low cost. _Reflects the narrator's belief in the power of example over formal religion._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/erewhon_se/chapters/xvii-ydgrun-and-the-ydgrunites - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/erewhon_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/erewhon_se/chapters