Short Fiction · Chapter
VII: Try Metaphysics explained
The king and queen, concerned about their daughter's peculiar lack of gravity, consult two Chinese philosophers, Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck, who propose conflicting metaphysical and materialist explanations and cures.
What happens
The king and queen, concerned about their daughter's peculiar lack of gravity, consult two Chinese philosophers, Hum-Drum and Kopy-Keck, who propose conflicting metaphysical and materialist explanations and cures. The princess herself is playful and uninterested in being normal, and the king and queen ultimately reject both harsh treatments.
Themes in this chapter
Reality vs. Illusion
The princess's condition challenges conventional notions of reality, as she defies physical laws and the philosophers' attempts to classify her, highlighting the gap between theoretical understanding and lived experience.
Vanity and Self-Conceit
The princess's self-satisfied dismissal of her parents' concerns and her delight in her own uniqueness reflect a form of vanity, while the philosophers' dogmatic assertions reveal their intellectual conceit.
Characters to notice
- The Princess
The princess exhibits a complete lack of gravity, both physically and in her attitude, finding joy in her condition and dismissing her parents' concerns with laughter and whimsical desires.
- Hum Drum
Hum-Drum, a materialist philosopher, argues that the princess's condition is due to a reversed heart motion and proposes a drastic physical cure involving bloodletting and air-pumps.
- Kopy Keck
Kopy-Keck, a spiritualist philosopher, believes the princess's soul belongs to another planet and recommends a rigorous education in earthly history to ground her.
Key passages
“I have a curious feeling sometimes, as if I were the only person that had any sense in the whole world.”
The princess says she occasionally feels like she is the only sensible person in existence.
This reveals her self-centered perspective and lack of concern for her unusual condition.
“It is to be tied to the end of a string—a very long string indeed, and be flown like a kite.”
The princess wishes to be attached to a long string and flown like a kite.
Her whimsical desire underscores her complete lack of gravity and her playful nature.
“There is not a fault in the princess, body or soul; only they are wrong put together.”
Kopy-Keck asserts that the princess has no inherent flaw, but her body and soul are mismatched.
This introduces the spiritualist explanation for her condition.
“The motion of her heart has been reversed.”
Hum-Drum claims that the princess's heart beats in the opposite direction from normal.
This is the materialist's proposed physical cause for her lack of gravity.