The Republic of the Future
Encyclopedia
The Republic of the Future: or, Socialism a Reality is a novella
by the American writer Anna Bowman Dodd, first published in 1887. The book is a dystopia
written in response to the utopian literature that was a dramatic and noteworthy feature of the second half of the nineteenth century.
's popular The Cooperative Commonwealth (1884). Dodd's book was one element in a conservative reaction to this literature. Other examples of this reactive dystopian response are William Harben's The Land of the Changing Sun (1894) and Charles J. Bayne's The Fall of Utopia (1900).
Coincidentally, Dodd's book was published a year before the appearance of Edward Bellamy
's famous Looking Backward
(1888), the great best-seller in its genre (which in turn provoked a spate of dystopian responses).
: Wolfgang, a Swedish aristocrat, writes letters home to his friend Hannevig while visiting New York Socialist City in the year 2050. In Dodd's fiction, Sweden retains a capitalist
economy, so that Wolfgang can contrast the new utopian socialist regime in New York with the more familiar forms at home.
Dodd takes satirical aim at various liberal developments of her era, including the first stirrings of the animal rights
movement (the ASPCA had been founded in New York in 1866). Dodd has her hero journey from Sweden to New York via a sub-oceanic transport system (operated by the Pneumatic Tube
Electric Company). As he goes, Wolfgang notes that aquatic life has resisted
Dodd's primary targets, however, are the innovations that utopians of her age most strongly advocated, socialism
, feminism
, and technological progress. Dodd paints a picture of a future New York as a dreary conformist society, in which the inhabitants live in identical homes and men and women dress alike. Though people work only two hours per day, they live tedious, vacuous lives. Travel is forbidden, and mediocrity is enforced by law: "All scholars, authors, artists and scientists who were found on examination to be more gifted than the average, were exiled." Children are raised in day care centers; romantic love has died out. Dodd's New Yorkers of 2050 "have the look of people who have come to the end of things and who have failed to find it amusing."
Since she is an anti-utopian writer, Dodd does not concentrate on the technological wonders anticipated and predicted by many utopian authors; but she does give her future New Yorkers automatic elevators and bedmaking devices and similar conveniences. Technology can make things worse instead of better: traditional food has been replaced by nutrition pills.
In Dodd's vision of the future, a socialist revolution occurred around 1900; the center of the city was destroyed with explosives, and rebuilt to socialist standards. Thinker and writer Henry George
is enshrined in a Temple of Liberators.
Most pro-feminist books were written by women, and anti-feminist tracts by men — though there were exceptions. Like Dodd, some women wrote in defense of traditional values, economic arrangements, and gender roles; and conversely, a few men, like Linn Boyd Porter (Speaking of Ellen, 1890) and William H. Bishop (The Garden of Eden, USA, 1895) were receptive to the feminist standpoint.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by the American writer Anna Bowman Dodd, first published in 1887. The book is a dystopia
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...
written in response to the utopian literature that was a dramatic and noteworthy feature of the second half of the nineteenth century.
Dystopias
The utopian literature of Dodd's generation consisted both of famous works and others now largely forgotten, like Laurence GronlundLaurence Gronlund
Laurence Gronlund was an American lawyer and socialist.-Biography:Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, he graduated from the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Law in 1865, and moved to the United States in 1867...
's popular The Cooperative Commonwealth (1884). Dodd's book was one element in a conservative reaction to this literature. Other examples of this reactive dystopian response are William Harben's The Land of the Changing Sun (1894) and Charles J. Bayne's The Fall of Utopia (1900).
Coincidentally, Dodd's book was published a year before the appearance of Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
's famous Looking Backward
Looking Backward
Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from western Massachusetts; it was first published in 1887...
(1888), the great best-seller in its genre (which in turn provoked a spate of dystopian responses).
Story and significance
Dodd casts her fiction in the form of an epistolary novelEpistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
: Wolfgang, a Swedish aristocrat, writes letters home to his friend Hannevig while visiting New York Socialist City in the year 2050. In Dodd's fiction, Sweden retains a capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
economy, so that Wolfgang can contrast the new utopian socialist regime in New York with the more familiar forms at home.
Dodd takes satirical aim at various liberal developments of her era, including the first stirrings of the animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
movement (the ASPCA had been founded in New York in 1866). Dodd has her hero journey from Sweden to New York via a sub-oceanic transport system (operated by the Pneumatic Tube
Pneumatic tube
Pneumatic tubes are systems in which cylindrical containers are propelled through a network of tubes by compressed air or by partial vacuum...
Electric Company). As he goes, Wolfgang notes that aquatic life has resisted
- "the persistent and unwearying exertions of the numerous Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty among Cetacea and Crustacea...of all the vertebrate or invertebrate animals, the fish is the least amenable to reformatory discipline...."
Dodd's primary targets, however, are the innovations that utopians of her age most strongly advocated, socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, and technological progress. Dodd paints a picture of a future New York as a dreary conformist society, in which the inhabitants live in identical homes and men and women dress alike. Though people work only two hours per day, they live tedious, vacuous lives. Travel is forbidden, and mediocrity is enforced by law: "All scholars, authors, artists and scientists who were found on examination to be more gifted than the average, were exiled." Children are raised in day care centers; romantic love has died out. Dodd's New Yorkers of 2050 "have the look of people who have come to the end of things and who have failed to find it amusing."
Since she is an anti-utopian writer, Dodd does not concentrate on the technological wonders anticipated and predicted by many utopian authors; but she does give her future New Yorkers automatic elevators and bedmaking devices and similar conveniences. Technology can make things worse instead of better: traditional food has been replaced by nutrition pills.
In Dodd's vision of the future, a socialist revolution occurred around 1900; the center of the city was destroyed with explosives, and rebuilt to socialist standards. Thinker and writer Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
is enshrined in a Temple of Liberators.
Author
Anna Bowman Dodd, née Blake (1855–1929), was a native of New York City, the daughter of a merchant. She wrote a number of other works in her career, including a biography of Tallyrand and books on travel.Most pro-feminist books were written by women, and anti-feminist tracts by men — though there were exceptions. Like Dodd, some women wrote in defense of traditional values, economic arrangements, and gender roles; and conversely, a few men, like Linn Boyd Porter (Speaking of Ellen, 1890) and William H. Bishop (The Garden of Eden, USA, 1895) were receptive to the feminist standpoint.
See also
- ArqtiqArqtiqArqtiq: A Story of the Marvels at the North Pole is a feminist utopian adventure novel, published in 1899 by its author, Anna Adolph. The book was one element in the major wave of utopian and dystopian fiction that marked the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Genre:Arqtiq participates...
- Caesar's ColumnCaesar's ColumnCaesar's Column: A Story of the Twentieth Century is a novel by Ignatius Donnelly, famous as the author of Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. Caesar's Column was published pseudonymously in 1890...
- MizoraMizoraMizora is an utopian novel by Mary E. Bradley Lane, first published in 1880–81, when it was serialized in the Cincinnati Commercial newspaper. It appeared in book form in 1890. Mizora is "the first portrait of an all-female, self-sufficient society," and "the first feminist technological...
- New AmazoniaNew AmazoniaNew Amazonia: A Foretaste of the Future is a feminist utopian novel, written by Elizabeth Burgoyne Corbett and first published in 1889. It was one element in the wave of utopian and dystopian literature that marked the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-The plot:In her novel, Corbett...
- The Scarlet EmpireThe Scarlet EmpireThe Scarlet Empire is a dystopian novel written by David MacLean Parry, a political satire first published in 1906. The book was one item in the major wave of utopian and dystopian literature that characterized the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Plot summary:John Walker is a young...
- Unveiling a ParallelUnveiling a ParallelUnveiling a Parallel: A Romance is a feminist science fiction and utopian novel published in 1893. The first edition of the book attributed authorship to "Two Women of the West." They were in fact Alice Ilgenfritz Jones and Ella Merchant, writers who lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.-Genre:The novel is...