Mathematics and Literature more or less have no reciprocity as subjects but somehow Edwin Abbott manages to implicitly tie the two together. Flatland, in a nutshell, uses geometrical concepts to illustrate/bring forth barbed satire of the hierarchical Victorian Age, specifically its belittling of women, class consciousness and docility. It was written in the 1800s, which was at the end of the romantic period and beginning of the realism period. Flatland therefore stimulated/spiked large amounts of controversy due to the nature of the novel. Flatland’s society is shaped by its population’s limited ability to perceive beyond what they can actually see. The striking combination of mathematic and literature is used to make the author’s discussion …show more content…
Mathematics provides a means through which non mathematical concepts could be made relatable to readers. In Flat Land, there is a strict hierarchy which is maintained purely to suppress ideas and limit the knowledge of citizens. The fear of the unknown is also evident in each of the 4 different worlds mentioned in the book, where the governing bodies are dismissive of the idea of the existence of another dimension. Lastly, innovators or just anyone in general with a perception which opposes that of the priestly order is threatened with death or imprisonment. The class system in flatland was very rigid and structured in such a way that everyone’s perception and thinking was more or less the same. It relied heavily on the types of …show more content…
Any hint of change is harmful and innovators are threatened with death and imprisonment. All this is done to keep them in check and maintain their hierarchical order. When A Square finally decides to speak out about his findings on further dimensionality he doesn’t do it subtly or with the least bit of respect for the doctrine which the power of positions is built upon. Instead “in a fervent peroration, I exhorted all my hearers to divest themselves of prejudice and to become believers in the Third Dimension”. He was imprisoned in attempt to suppress his ideas whether they were true or