Shambleau
Encyclopedia
"Shambleau" is a short story
by American
science fiction
and fantasy
writer C. L. Moore
. Though it was her first professional sale, it is her most famous story. It first appeared in the November 1933 issue of Weird Tales
and has been reprinted numerous times. It features one of Moore's best-known heroes, Northwest Smith
, a gun-toting spacefarer, and is a retelling of the Medusa
myth; it looks at themes of sexuality
and addiction
.
When Smith takes a closer look at the woman, he realizes that she is not human, though she is attractive. Feeling some responsibility for her, he allows her to shelter in his room, while he conducts his illegal business.
Smith eventually discovers firsthand that a Shambleau feeds on the lifeforce of others using the worms it has instead of hair, while addicting its short-lived victims with pure ecstasy. Fortunately for Smith, his Venusian partner Yarol comes looking for him and finds him before it is too late. Unlike Smith, he knows what the creature is. Though he himself is drawn to the Shambleau, he manages to avert his gaze; then, seeing the Shambleau's reflection in a mirror, Yarol is able to shoot and kill it.
scene which starts the story. Thomas F. Bertonneau remarks that "Moore's protagonist gets into trouble by rescuing what appears to be a young woman from a Martian lynch-mob: his sense of the dignity of the persecuted victim leads him to put himself in danger by opposing the witch-hunters. (Later, ironically, Smith has to be rescued from the young woman, who turns out to be a monster in disguise; victimhood can be a disguise.)
Bernard Fields adds that, "The disturbing undercurrent is that the lynch mob turns out to have been right in wanting to kill the 'sweetly made girl'. Smith was wrong in his chivalrous impulse to save her, and the mob was right to despise him for it.
".
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
writer C. L. Moore
C. L. Moore
Catherine Lucille Moore was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, as C. L. Moore. She was one of the first women to write in the genre, and paved the way for many other female writers in speculative fiction....
. Though it was her first professional sale, it is her most famous story. It first appeared in the November 1933 issue of Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
and has been reprinted numerous times. It features one of Moore's best-known heroes, Northwest Smith
Northwest Smith
Northwest Smith is a fictional character, and the hero of a series of stories by science fiction writer C. L. Moore.- Story setting :Smith is a spaceship pilot and smuggler who lives in an undisclosed future time when humanity has colonized the solar system....
, a gun-toting spacefarer, and is a retelling of the Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
myth; it looks at themes of sexuality
Human sexuality
Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...
and addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
.
Plot
On Mars, tough smuggler Northwest Smith encounters a young woman being chased by a mob. Instinctively, he decides to protect her. The crowd identifies her as "Shambleau", but Smith does not recognize the name. He is surprised when the mob disperses without violence when he claims her as his own. To his puzzlement, he senses disgust, not hatred, aimed at him.When Smith takes a closer look at the woman, he realizes that she is not human, though she is attractive. Feeling some responsibility for her, he allows her to shelter in his room, while he conducts his illegal business.
Smith eventually discovers firsthand that a Shambleau feeds on the lifeforce of others using the worms it has instead of hair, while addicting its short-lived victims with pure ecstasy. Fortunately for Smith, his Venusian partner Yarol comes looking for him and finds him before it is too late. Unlike Smith, he knows what the creature is. Though he himself is drawn to the Shambleau, he manages to avert his gaze; then, seeing the Shambleau's reflection in a mirror, Yarol is able to shoot and kill it.
Response
Several commentators refer to the lynchingLynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
scene which starts the story. Thomas F. Bertonneau remarks that "Moore's protagonist gets into trouble by rescuing what appears to be a young woman from a Martian lynch-mob: his sense of the dignity of the persecuted victim leads him to put himself in danger by opposing the witch-hunters. (Later, ironically, Smith has to be rescued from the young woman, who turns out to be a monster in disguise; victimhood can be a disguise.)
Bernard Fields adds that, "The disturbing undercurrent is that the lynch mob turns out to have been right in wanting to kill the 'sweetly made girl'. Smith was wrong in his chivalrous impulse to save her, and the mob was right to despise him for it.
Influences
Moore at one point has Northwest Smith whistling the tune "The Green Hills of Earth." Robert Heinlein belatedly credited this usage as the inspiration for the title of, and eponymous song within, his 1947 short story "The Green Hills of EarthThe Green Hills of Earth
"The Green Hills of Earth" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein, and the title of a song, "The Green Hills of Earth", mentioned in several of his novels...
".