# Endnotes explained — We

> Chapter companion for We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

## What happens

The chapter consists of endnotes that provide commentary on the text, referencing the chemical constitution of an unknown substance, the origin of flowers from the Botanical Museum, and a historical event from the third century AT (After the Tables).

## Themes in this chapter

### Nature vs. Civilization

The endnote dismisses flowers as belonging to a 'lower kingdom' beyond the Green Wall, contrasting natural beauty with the rational, useful world of machines and formulae.

### Technology and Dehumanization

The assertion that only rational and useful things are beautiful—machines, boots, formulae, food—reflects a dehumanizing prioritization of utility over aesthetic or emotional experience.

## Key lines

> Only rational and useful things are beautiful: machines, boots, formulae, food, etc.

Beauty is defined solely by practicality and reason, encompassing items like machinery, footwear, mathematical expressions, and sustenance.

_This encapsulates the One State's utilitarian ideology, rejecting natural or artistic beauty._

> It happened long ago, in the third century AT (After the Tables).

This event occurred in the distant past, specifically in the third century following the establishment of the Tables.

_The dating system 'AT' underscores the foundational role of the Tables in the One State's chronology._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/we_se/chapters/endnotes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/we_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/we_se/chapters