The Wasp Factory
Encyclopedia
The Wasp Factory was the first novel
by Scottish writer Iain Banks
. It was published in 1984.
perspective, told by sixteen-year-old eunuch
Frank Cauldhame, describing his childhood and all that remains of it. Frank observes many shamanistic rituals of his own invention, and it is soon revealed that Frank was the perpetrator of three deaths within his family - all other children and all before he reached the age of ten. As the novel develops, his brother's escape from a mental hospital
and impending return lead on to a violent ending and a twist that undermines all that Frank believed about himself.
that Frank puts into the hole at the center within tubes. Frank believes the death 'chosen' by the wasp predicts something about the future.
There are also Sacrifice Poles, upon which hang the bodies and heads of larger animals, such as seagulls, that Frank has killed and other sacred items. They define and 'protect' the borders of Frank's territory - the island upon which he lives with his father.
Frank occupies himself with his rituals and an array of weapons (from his catapult
, to home-made flame throwers and pipe bomb
s) to control the island. He goes for long walks and runs, and occasionally gets drunk
with his dwarf friend Jamie in the local pub
. Other than that, Frank has almost no contact with the world outside his island and admits he is afraid of it due to what it did to his brother, Eric.
Frank's older brother Eric is in an insane asylum after witnessing a tragic case of neglect in a hospital where he was training. He escapes in the start of the novel and throughout the book rings Frank from phone boxes; informing him he is coming to visit. Frank is confused as to whether or not he is looking forward to seeing Eric, but it is clear Frank loves his brother dearly. Frank constantly refers to his older brother as being extremely sensitive before "the incident". After a long build-up, which comes to define the book, we discover "the incident" which occurred to drive Eric insane.
At the very end of the novel the reader finds out that Frank is in fact female, and that when she thought she was castrated by Old Saul (the family dog) at an early age, her father had simply pumped her full of male hormones to see if she would transition from female to male. The father said it was simply "an experiment" and there are hints it was in order to distance himself from the women he felt had ruined his life.
. While this is mostly against animals, Frank also recollects killing three younger children when a child himself. The murders are described in an honest and matter-of-fact way, often with grotesque humour; what may be more disturbing than the details of the violence itself is the depth and intensity with which Frank is portrayed. What is also most shocking about the novel is the fact that the reader actually starts to sympathise with and even like Frank despite his monstrous, psychopathic actions. The Irish Times called it "a work of unparalleled depravity."
The novel works largely as a Bildungsroman
as it deals with Frank's ability to deal with events going on around him as he has grown up. In terms of genre it fits into the Gothic Literature due to its exploration of death
, mortality and arguably presentations of the monstrous
.
It also deals with Banks' sceptical attitudes towards organised religion. Frank is obsessive about ritual
and the form of things; the Wasp Factory and the Sacrifice Poles are protective talisman
s, and divinatory in intent.
The novel is also about power and its abuse. Frank's father's deception of his son (one of Banks' central themes, which appears again in The Crow Road
), and the propensity of people for deceiving themselves, are accentuated in the final chapters of the book when new facts force the reader to reassess completely the opinions formed about the narrator
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Scottish writer Iain Banks
Iain Banks
Iain Banks is a Scottish writer. He writes mainstream fiction under the name Iain Banks, and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, including the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies...
. It was published in 1984.
Overview
It is written from a first personFirst-person narrative
First-person point of view is a narrative mode where a story is narrated by one character at a time, speaking for and about themselves. First-person narrative may be singular, plural or multiple as well as being an authoritative, reliable or deceptive "voice" and represents point of view in the...
perspective, told by sixteen-year-old eunuch
Eunuch
A eunuch is a person born male most commonly castrated, typically early enough in his life for this change to have major hormonal consequences...
Frank Cauldhame, describing his childhood and all that remains of it. Frank observes many shamanistic rituals of his own invention, and it is soon revealed that Frank was the perpetrator of three deaths within his family - all other children and all before he reached the age of ten. As the novel develops, his brother's escape from a mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
and impending return lead on to a violent ending and a twist that undermines all that Frank believed about himself.
Plot
The 'Wasp Factory' of the title is a huge clock face encased in a glass box and salvaged from the local dump. Behind each of the 12 numerals is a trap which leads to a different ritual death (for example burning, crushing, or drowning in Frank's urine) for the waspWasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
that Frank puts into the hole at the center within tubes. Frank believes the death 'chosen' by the wasp predicts something about the future.
There are also Sacrifice Poles, upon which hang the bodies and heads of larger animals, such as seagulls, that Frank has killed and other sacred items. They define and 'protect' the borders of Frank's territory - the island upon which he lives with his father.
Frank occupies himself with his rituals and an array of weapons (from his catapult
Slingshot
A slingshot, shanghai, flip, bean shooter or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, with two rubber strips attached to the uprights. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket which holds the projectile...
, to home-made flame throwers and pipe bomb
Pipe bomb
A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...
s) to control the island. He goes for long walks and runs, and occasionally gets drunk
Drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication is a physiological state that occurs when a person has a high level of ethanol in his or her blood....
with his dwarf friend Jamie in the local pub
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. Other than that, Frank has almost no contact with the world outside his island and admits he is afraid of it due to what it did to his brother, Eric.
Frank's older brother Eric is in an insane asylum after witnessing a tragic case of neglect in a hospital where he was training. He escapes in the start of the novel and throughout the book rings Frank from phone boxes; informing him he is coming to visit. Frank is confused as to whether or not he is looking forward to seeing Eric, but it is clear Frank loves his brother dearly. Frank constantly refers to his older brother as being extremely sensitive before "the incident". After a long build-up, which comes to define the book, we discover "the incident" which occurred to drive Eric insane.
At the very end of the novel the reader finds out that Frank is in fact female, and that when she thought she was castrated by Old Saul (the family dog) at an early age, her father had simply pumped her full of male hormones to see if she would transition from female to male. The father said it was simply "an experiment" and there are hints it was in order to distance himself from the women he felt had ruined his life.
Literary significance and criticism
A 1997 poll of over 25,000 readers listed The Wasp Factory as one of the top 100 books of the 20th century. But as a first novel by an unknown author, the book was initially greeted with a mixture of acclaim and controversy, due to its gruesome depiction of violenceViolence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
. While this is mostly against animals, Frank also recollects killing three younger children when a child himself. The murders are described in an honest and matter-of-fact way, often with grotesque humour; what may be more disturbing than the details of the violence itself is the depth and intensity with which Frank is portrayed. What is also most shocking about the novel is the fact that the reader actually starts to sympathise with and even like Frank despite his monstrous, psychopathic actions. The Irish Times called it "a work of unparalleled depravity."
The novel works largely as a Bildungsroman
Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, bildungsroman or coming-of-age story is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood , and in which character change is thus extremely important...
as it deals with Frank's ability to deal with events going on around him as he has grown up. In terms of genre it fits into the Gothic Literature due to its exploration of death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
, mortality and arguably presentations of the monstrous
Monstrous
Monstrous may refer to:*Monstrous carbuncle, a term used to describe modernist architecture which is unsympathetic to its surroundings*Monstrous humanoid, a creature type in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game...
.
It also deals with Banks' sceptical attitudes towards organised religion. Frank is obsessive about ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
and the form of things; the Wasp Factory and the Sacrifice Poles are protective talisman
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s, and divinatory in intent.
The novel is also about power and its abuse. Frank's father's deception of his son (one of Banks' central themes, which appears again in The Crow Road
The Crow Road
The Crow Road is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1992.-Plot introduction:Prentice McHoan's life, growing up in a complex but coherent Scottish family with many mysteries is described, seen through his preoccupations with death, sex, relationships, drink and God, with the...
), and the propensity of people for deceiving themselves, are accentuated in the final chapters of the book when new facts force the reader to reassess completely the opinions formed about the narrator
Unreliable narrator
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in The Rhetoric of Fiction. This narrative mode is one that can be developed by an author for a number of reasons, usually...
.
Release details
- 1984, UK, MacmillanMacmillan PublishersMacmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
(ISBN 0-333-36380-9), Pub date 16 February 1984, hardback (First edition)
External links
- Iain Banks discusses The Wasp Factory on the BBC World Book ClubWorld Book ClubWorld Book Club is a radio programme on the BBC World Service. Each edition of the programme, which is broadcast on the first Saturday of the month with repeats into the following Monday, features a famous author discussing one of his or her books, often the most well-known one, with the public...
- Iain Banks discusses The Wasp Factory at the Guardian Book ClubThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Iain Banks writing about the creation of The Wasp Factory for the Guardian
- Unreality Shout review
- Steven Wu review
- William Lexner review
- Critical Analysis of Iain Banks' Work
- An interesting essay on the Wasp Factory may be found here