The Role of Female Heroes in The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Women have always been looked down upon by society, especially in leadership roles. In The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham, the female characters are the most important characters in the story. Petra and Rosalind have a big impact on the story, and in saving themselves and the group. In the story, David, Rosalind and Petra and six other people have telepathic abilities. They live in the Waknuk district, where people discriminate against people who are different. So, once the people of Waknuk find out about their abilities, they have to flee.In the runaway, the female characters in The Chrysalids are the real heroes of the novel.

Petra makes a huge impact by giving Rosalind and David a free life. She is also very intelligent. Firstly, Petra helps her group members by persuading the people of Zealand to help them, ensuring that they have a free life. Petra has no limit in her range for her telepathic ability. Since she has no limit, she is interrupted by a woman far away. She later discovers that the woman lives in Zealand, and the people who have telepathic powers there are accepted and not discriminated against. The people from Zealand comes to help the group: “The Sealand people are coming to help. They are not so far away as they were, now.” she told us confidently”. This is significant because David and Rosalind know that they will have a free life since they will be accepted in Zealand (Sealand). Secondly, Petra is really intelligent. Petra is six years old and she is able to learn a new ability in a very short period of time: “The following afternoon we had another session… Petra was beginning to grasp the idea of forming thought-shapes — in a childish way, as was only to be expected — but frequently recognizable in spite of distortions”.

As this is said by Petra’s teacher, David, who refers to it as a big achievement. In just an afternoon, Petra is able to learn a new ability, although she is not very good at it and has problems. Later in the story she manages to learn to control it too. She is able to learn a new ability in a short period of time, shows intelligence and intelligence is important for a hero because they need to be intelligent and crafty in their adventure.Rosalind is another female character who is a hero throughout the novel as she proves to be a resourceful person, and comforts her friends.

Firstly, Rosalind is a resourceful person. Throughout the story, she uses her knowledge to best help David and the “the group”. She uses her resources to best of her ability like when she used her father’s great- horses: “‘Ordinary horses have the speed of them for short bursts,' I acknowledged, 'but they can't touch them for stamina.’” Although this is said by the narrator, David, it acknowledges that Rosalind is mindful of the future as she uses the great- horses to help them, in case of a fast runaway. Rosalind is able to think fast on her feet, as she has little time to flee Waknuk, making her a resourceful person. Furthermore, she chooses a trail that is harder to find them on: “We went on by the erratic route that Rosalind had picked to hide the trail”. The significance of this quote is that it explains that Rosalind can be resourceful in thinking of trial that keeps them hidden for as long as possible.

Secondly, Rosalind can comfort her friends when in need. Throughout the story, Rosalind is able to comfort her friends when they are feeling down, especially Petra. Since she is the youngest, she needs the most attention in a caring fashion. For example, Rosalind comforts Petra when she is crying because of the death of her pony: “She began to cry. Rosalind put an arm around her and held her close to her”. A selfless hero is a hero that shows caring in other people to make them feel better and strive to improve the life of others around them and that is important for a hero. Rosalind shows caring and a selfless hero in the example above. As Rosalind shows care for her friends and can comfort the people, making her a hero.

In conclusion, in the book The Chrysalids the female characters play a tremendous role, making them heroes of the story. In particular, Petra and Rosalind. Petra helps to give David and Rosalind a free life from Waknuk, where the people are discriminating them because of their special ability. Rosalind on other hand uses her resourceful mind to best aid in the adventure to flee Waknuk. Canada has gender equality in leadership roles, but it different countries around the world, many countries look down upon women as a leader.