Born of Man and Woman
Encyclopedia
Born of Man and Woman is a science fiction
short story
by Richard Matheson
, originally published in 1950 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It was his first professional sale, written when he was twenty-two years old. It became the title piece in Matheson's first short story collection in 1954.
The story ends with the child hitting a stick out of its father's hands and promising violence against its parents if they beat it further. It thinks about running along walls,and it is revealed it has more than one set of limbs showing that it is extraordinarily different from a normal child, this realisation shows why the centuar child is locked away.
Born of Man and Woman was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
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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...
short story
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 Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson
Richard Burton Matheson is an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is perhaps best known as the author of What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, The Incredible Shrinking Man, and I Am Legend, all of which have been...
, originally published in 1950 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It was his first professional sale, written when he was twenty-two years old. It became the title piece in Matheson's first short story collection in 1954.
Plot summary
This short story, by Richard Matheson, is written in the form of a diary by a alien, centaur type creature who is kept chained in the basement by its parents, and frequently beaten. It is, however, able to pull its chain out of the wall and is able to observe the outside world. Once it listens in to a dinner party, but is overheard, returned to the basement, and is once again beaten. On another occasion it climbs to a small window and observes its siblings outside, playing with friends. Some of the normal children spot the child, and it is again beaten, and bleeds green blood. In a final incident, its young sister (to whom it refers as "little mother") comes into the basement with her pet. The 8 year old hides from them in the coal pile, but is forced to crush the pet to death when it smells the child and attacks.The story ends with the child hitting a stick out of its father's hands and promising violence against its parents if they beat it further. It thinks about running along walls,and it is revealed it has more than one set of limbs showing that it is extraordinarily different from a normal child, this realisation shows why the centuar child is locked away.
Born of Man and Woman was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964
The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929–1964 is a 1970 anthology of science fiction short stories, edited by Robert Silverberg. It is generally considered one of the best, if not the best, of the many science fiction anthologies...
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