The Fixed Period
Encyclopedia
The Fixed Period is a satirical
dystopian novel
by Anthony Trollope
.
in 1881-82 and in book form in 1882. In the same year there also appeared U.S. and Tauchnitz
editions of the novel. There were no further editions until 1981. The Fixed Period is Trollope's only piece of dystopian writing.
Trollope was influenced in writing the book by The Old Law
, a 17th century tragicomedy
written by Thomas Middleton
, William Rowley
, and Philip Massinger
which he had read, and commented upon, in 1876. The Fixed Period is set in the year 1980 in the Republic of Britannula, a fictional island in the vicinity of New Zealand
, and deals with euthanasia
as a radical solution to the problem of the aged. The novel takes the form of a personal account written by the President of Britannula about the island's recent history. It has frequently been remarked that when the book came out Trollope himself had reached the age of 67, the exact age at which all Britannulans are obliged by law to retire from their worldly affairs and begin a year of preparation for death.
which demanded, and was granted, independence from Great Britain in the mid-20th century. Its 250,000 inhabitants have, with few exceptions, retained British law and customs, and also her currency. Britannula is a thriving agrarian society
whose wealth is mainly based on sheep farming
and the wool trade. Its capital, Gladstonopolis, is named after 19th century British
Liberal
statesman and Prime Minister
William Ewart Gladstone
.
After independence and self-government had been gained, the Britannulans set about to organise their political system. According to the Britannulan Constitution, the Assembly, their unicameral
parliament, consists of 85 Senators, who are the elected representatives of the people of Britannula. As there are hardly any differences between social classes, and as there is no aristocracy
, the institutionalisation of an upper house
was not deemed necessary. Also, as opposed to Great Britain, there is no capital punishment
. The Republic of Britannula is headed
by an elected President.
The first legislative Assembly of about 30 years ago consisted mainly of young, energetic men who were eager to build a modern state. When a proposal was made to terminate citizens' lives at a fixed age in order to spare them undignified suffering and to help cut down on the state's expenditure on unproductive people, it got an overwhelming majority. The age was fixed at 67, at which time a citizen's "deposition" was to take place, consisting of their removal to "The College", an institution situated in the town of Necropolis, followed by their "departure", and subsequent cremation
, exactly one year later, at the age of 68. No "departures" have been administered so far as none of Britannula's inhabitants has yet reached their "Fixed Period."
The concept of the New Woman
has never been known to Britannulans, and there is no feminist movement
to speak of. Rather, women still behave and act as if they were living in the Victorian era
. They have no role whatsoever in public or business life and lead a quiet and submissive domestic existence. Sex outside marriage
is not practised.
When all of a sudden Crasweller starts lying about his age and claiming that he was in fact born a year later, Neverbend realises that measures must be taken to ensure the smooth execution of the Law. However, he soon finds out that it has dawned on other elderly citizens as well what the state has in store for them, and that various individuals have come up with all kinds of excuses and plans as to how they are going to oppose their deposition and, eventually, departure. He finds a supporter in Abraham Grundle, one of the young Senators, but is shocked when he realizes that Grundle, who is engaged to Crasweller's daughter Eva, only wants to inherit his friend's fortune as soon as possible. But despite this setback, and although both his own son Jack and his wife Sarah turn against him, Neverbend, who has long since passed the point of no return
, considers it his duty as President and law-abiding citizen to have Crasweller deposited.
As a man of honour, Crasweller finally yields to Neverbend's arguments and stoically accepts his fate. However, on the very day of his deposition the carriage that is to transport the two men to the College is held up in the streets of Gladstonopolis by British armed forces. They have arrived on a warship
of enormous dimensions and, by threatening to destroy the whole city with their "250-lb
swivel gun
," compel Neverbend to release Crasweller and eventually to step down as President. Britannula is re-annexed
by Great Britain, a Governor is installed, and John Neverbend is forced to return to England with them.
During the passage Neverbend commits to paper the recent history of Britannula, finishing it only two days before his arrival in England. He plans to write another, more theoretical book on the "Fixed Period" and to preach to the English about this necessary step in the progress of mankind. However, he realizes that he does not really know whether he will be treated with respect in the old country or not, or whether he will ever be able to return to Britannula.
notes that
In the field of transportation, generally, the absence of any airborne vehicles
is quite striking: when the British cricket team travels to Britannula they do so on a steam ship, and it takes them several weeks to reach their destination. In telecommunication
s, apart from the above-mentioned "hair telephone," "water telegrams
" and a "reporting-telephone apparatus" - all of which were only slight refinements of pre-existing Victorian technology - seem to be the only important inventions. The latter machine enables newspaper readers in London to read a speech held in Gladstonopolis only one hour after it has been given.
gave a farewell address on leaving Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in which he referred to Trollope's The Fixed Period in a humorous manner. His words were misconstrued, and Osler was quoted as having advocated euthanasia ("Osler recommends chloroform
at sixty").
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
dystopian novel
Utopian and dystopian fiction
The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia...
by Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
.
Introduction
It was first published in six instalments in Blackwood's MagazineBlackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The first number appeared in April 1817 under the editorship of Thomas Pringle and James Cleghorn...
in 1881-82 and in book form in 1882. In the same year there also appeared U.S. and Tauchnitz
Tauchnitz
Tauchnitz was the name of a family of German printers and publishers.Karl Christoph Traugott Tauchnitz , born at Grossbardau near Grimma, Saxony, established a printing business in Leipzig in 1796 and a publishing house in 1798...
editions of the novel. There were no further editions until 1981. The Fixed Period is Trollope's only piece of dystopian writing.
Trollope was influenced in writing the book by The Old Law
The Old Law
The Old Law, or A New Way to Please You is a seventeenth-century tragicomedy written by Thomas Middleton, William Rowley, and Philip Massinger...
, a 17th century tragicomedy
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
written by Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton
Thomas Middleton was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. Middleton stands with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson as among the most successful and prolific of playwrights who wrote their best plays during the Jacobean period. He was one of the few Renaissance dramatists to achieve equal success in...
, William Rowley
William Rowley
William Rowley was an English Jacobean dramatist, best known for works written in collaboration with more successful writers. His date of birth is estimated to have been c. 1585; he was buried on 11 February 1626...
, and Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger
Philip Massinger was an English dramatist. His finely plotted plays, including A New Way to Pay Old Debts, The City Madam and The Roman Actor, are noted for their satire and realism, and their political and social themes.-Early life:The son of Arthur Massinger or Messenger, he was baptized at St....
which he had read, and commented upon, in 1876. The Fixed Period is set in the year 1980 in the Republic of Britannula, a fictional island in the vicinity of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and deals with euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
as a radical solution to the problem of the aged. The novel takes the form of a personal account written by the President of Britannula about the island's recent history. It has frequently been remarked that when the book came out Trollope himself had reached the age of 67, the exact age at which all Britannulans are obliged by law to retire from their worldly affairs and begin a year of preparation for death.
Life in Britannula and the concept of the "Fixed Period"
Britannula is a former British Crown ColonyBritish overseas territories
The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories of the United Kingdom which, although they do not form part of the United Kingdom itself, fall under its jurisdiction. They are remnants of the British Empire that have not acquired independence or have voted to remain British territories...
which demanded, and was granted, independence from Great Britain in the mid-20th century. Its 250,000 inhabitants have, with few exceptions, retained British law and customs, and also her currency. Britannula is a thriving agrarian society
Agrarian society
An agrarian society is a society that depends on agriculture as its primary means for support and sustenance. The society acknowledges other means of livelihood and work habits but stresses the importance of agriculture and farming, and was the most common form of socio-economic oganization for...
whose wealth is mainly based on sheep farming
Sheep husbandry
Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may also be raised for milk or to sell to other farmers.-Shelter and...
and the wool trade. Its capital, Gladstonopolis, is named after 19th century British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
Liberal
Liberal Party (UK)
The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
statesman and Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
.
After independence and self-government had been gained, the Britannulans set about to organise their political system. According to the Britannulan Constitution, the Assembly, their unicameral
Unicameralism
In government, unicameralism is the practice of having one legislative or parliamentary chamber. Thus, a unicameral parliament or unicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of one chamber or house...
parliament, consists of 85 Senators, who are the elected representatives of the people of Britannula. As there are hardly any differences between social classes, and as there is no aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
, the institutionalisation of an upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
was not deemed necessary. Also, as opposed to Great Britain, there is no capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
. The Republic of Britannula is headed
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
by an elected President.
The first legislative Assembly of about 30 years ago consisted mainly of young, energetic men who were eager to build a modern state. When a proposal was made to terminate citizens' lives at a fixed age in order to spare them undignified suffering and to help cut down on the state's expenditure on unproductive people, it got an overwhelming majority. The age was fixed at 67, at which time a citizen's "deposition" was to take place, consisting of their removal to "The College", an institution situated in the town of Necropolis, followed by their "departure", and subsequent cremation
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
, exactly one year later, at the age of 68. No "departures" have been administered so far as none of Britannula's inhabitants has yet reached their "Fixed Period."
The concept of the New Woman
New Woman
The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century. The New Woman pushed the limits set by male-dominated society, especially as modeled in the plays of Norwegian Henrik Ibsen . "The New Woman sprang fully armed from Ibsen's brain," according to a joke by Max Beerbohm...
has never been known to Britannulans, and there is no feminist movement
Feminist movement
The feminist movement refers to a series of campaigns for reforms on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women's suffrage, sexual harassment and sexual violence...
to speak of. Rather, women still behave and act as if they were living in the Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
. They have no role whatsoever in public or business life and lead a quiet and submissive domestic existence. Sex outside marriage
Extramarital sex
Extramarital sex occurs when a married person engages in sexual activity with someone other than his or her marriage partner.Where extramarital sexual relations breach a sexual norm it may also be referred to as adultery, fornication, philandery, or infidelity...
is not practised.
Plot summary
Gabriel Crasweller, a successful merchant-farmer and landowner, is Britannula's oldest citizen. Born in 1913, he emigrated from New Zealand when he was a young man and was instrumental in building the new republic as one of a group of similar-minded men which included his best friend John Neverbend, ten years his junior, who is now serving his term as President of Britannula. Whereas decades ago Crasweller also voted in favour of the law which introduced the "Fixed Period," he gradually becomes more pensive as the day of his deposition is approaching. Neverbend has long been planning that day and envisaging it as a day of triumph, believing that mankind and civilisation will move an enormous step forward towards perfection. As the originator of the idea, Neverbend also hopes that his name will go down in the annals of history as one of the great reformers. He considers it unfortunate that his friend Crasweller, as the first one to go, does not show any of the signs of old age for which "the Law" was made in the first place: Crasweller is healthy and vigorous, his mental abilities have not started to deteriorate in any way, and accordingly he is more than capable of managing his own affairs and of earning his living.When all of a sudden Crasweller starts lying about his age and claiming that he was in fact born a year later, Neverbend realises that measures must be taken to ensure the smooth execution of the Law. However, he soon finds out that it has dawned on other elderly citizens as well what the state has in store for them, and that various individuals have come up with all kinds of excuses and plans as to how they are going to oppose their deposition and, eventually, departure. He finds a supporter in Abraham Grundle, one of the young Senators, but is shocked when he realizes that Grundle, who is engaged to Crasweller's daughter Eva, only wants to inherit his friend's fortune as soon as possible. But despite this setback, and although both his own son Jack and his wife Sarah turn against him, Neverbend, who has long since passed the point of no return
Point of no return
The point of no return is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous. It is also used when the distance or effort required to get back would be greater than the remainder of the...
, considers it his duty as President and law-abiding citizen to have Crasweller deposited.
As a man of honour, Crasweller finally yields to Neverbend's arguments and stoically accepts his fate. However, on the very day of his deposition the carriage that is to transport the two men to the College is held up in the streets of Gladstonopolis by British armed forces. They have arrived on a warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
of enormous dimensions and, by threatening to destroy the whole city with their "250-lb
Pound (mass)
The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
swivel gun
Swivel gun
The term swivel gun usually refers to a small cannon, mounted on a swiveling stand or fork which allows a very wide arc of movement. Another type of firearm referred to as a swivel gun was an early flintlock combination gun with two barrels that rotated along their axes to allow the shooter to...
," compel Neverbend to release Crasweller and eventually to step down as President. Britannula is re-annexed
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
by Great Britain, a Governor is installed, and John Neverbend is forced to return to England with them.
During the passage Neverbend commits to paper the recent history of Britannula, finishing it only two days before his arrival in England. He plans to write another, more theoretical book on the "Fixed Period" and to preach to the English about this necessary step in the progress of mankind. However, he realizes that he does not really know whether he will be treated with respect in the old country or not, or whether he will ever be able to return to Britannula.
The science fiction element in The Fixed Period
Raymond CarrRaymond Carr
Sir Albert Raymond Maillard Carr FBA FRHS FRSL , known as Raymond Carr, is an English historian specializing in the history of Spain, Latin America, and Sweden who was Warden of St Antony's College, Oxford, from 1968 to 1987....
notes that
the publication of the book shocked a public accustomed to find in Trollope the chronicler of contemporary social life. [...] It is an essay in science fiction. Technology will produce 250-lb "swivel guns" that can destroy a city. Naval officers are equipped with mobile (hair) phonesMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. The inhabitants ride steam tricycleSteam tricycleA steam tricycle is a steam-driven three-wheeled vehicle.-History:In the early days of motorised vehicle development, a number of experimenters built steam-powered vehicles with three wheels....
s, cricketers employ "a mechanical steam bowler." But he was no H. G. WellsH. G. WellsHerbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. The Britannulans still go round in horse-drawn carriages.
In the field of transportation, generally, the absence of any airborne vehicles
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
is quite striking: when the British cricket team travels to Britannula they do so on a steam ship, and it takes them several weeks to reach their destination. In telecommunication
Telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information over significant distances to communicate. In earlier times, telecommunications involved the use of visual signals, such as beacons, smoke signals, semaphore telegraphs, signal flags, and optical heliographs, or audio messages via coded...
s, apart from the above-mentioned "hair telephone," "water telegrams
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
" and a "reporting-telephone apparatus" - all of which were only slight refinements of pre-existing Victorian technology - seem to be the only important inventions. The latter machine enables newspaper readers in London to read a speech held in Gladstonopolis only one hour after it has been given.
William Osler's "Fixed Period" speech
In 1905, after he had been appointed Professor of Medicine at Oxford, Canadian physician William OslerWilliam Osler
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...
gave a farewell address on leaving Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in which he referred to Trollope's The Fixed Period in a humorous manner. His words were misconstrued, and Osler was quoted as having advocated euthanasia ("Osler recommends chloroform
Chloroform
Chloroform is an organic compound with formula CHCl3. It is one of the four chloromethanes. The colorless, sweet-smelling, dense liquid is a trihalomethane, and is considered somewhat hazardous...
at sixty").
See also
- AgeismAgeismAgeism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice, discrimination, and subordination...
- List of dystopian literature
- In particular, see Ira LevinIra LevinIra Levin was an American author, dramatist and songwriter.-Professional life:Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa...
's novel This Perfect DayThis Perfect DayThis Perfect Day , by Ira Levin, is a heroic science fiction novel of a technocratic false-utopia. It is often compared to Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World.-Plot backstory:...
(1970), where people are scheduled to die at the age of 62. - Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
: A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the PublickA Modest ProposalA Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick, commonly referred to as A Modest Proposal, is a Juvenalian satirical essay written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in...
(1729) - Alberto ManguelAlberto ManguelAlberto Manguel is a Canadian Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such as The Dictionary of Imaginary Places , A History of Reading , The Library at Night and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography ; and novels such as News...
and Gianni Guadalupi: The Dictionary of Imaginary PlacesThe Dictionary of Imaginary PlacesThe Dictionary of Imaginary Places is a book written by Alberto Manguel and Gianni Guadalupi. It takes the form of a catalogue of fantasy lands, islands, cities, and other locations from world literature—"a Baedecker or traveller's guide...a nineteenth-century gazetteer" for mental...
(where Britannula is not included). - List of fictional islands
- Logan's RunLogan's RunLogan's Run is a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, it depicts a dystopic ageist future society in which both population and the consumption of resources are maintained in equilibrium by requiring the death of everyone reaching a particular age...
, a movie in which occurs a similar idea of a fixed period before mandatory death