John Wyndham's The Chrysalids

Sophie Wender is a significant character in The Chrysalids as she is used to introduce the concept of mutations into the story. This purpose alone would explain her significance, but her growth also communicates some of the themes in the story. At first, Sophie strikes the appearance of a fearing, curious and obedient child. She is in her own chrysalid, so to speak. As she comes to age, her transformation develops her convictions as well as it does to change her behaviour. Sophie turns from a shy, innocent child, into a highly unpleasant killer. This transformation is made to be more interesting by the fact that what happens to her in between these two stages is not mentioned. What is clear; however, is that John Wyndham’s usage of language …show more content…
In the sentence, “The two girls studied one another, curiously and warily”, the author’s use of words “studied”, “curiously” and “warily” all point out to Sophie’s distrust towards Rosalind, who is a stranger to her. As well, the author shows that Sophie lacks any apparent remorse for killing a man according to the sentence, “Without any embarrassment, she pulled it off and began to soak them out in the cold water.” The use of the phrase, “Without any embarrassment” seems to exercise the author’s tone that Sophie thinks nothing of her presentation, or for killing someone. Another sentence that seems to exemplify Sophie’s lack or refinement is when the author writes, “She bent towards Rosalind, locks of dark hair dangling down on her naked breasts, her eyes narrowed,’ When Sophie’s eyes narrow, this detail appears to be included in order to signify increasing tension, and thus her frustrations towards her rival for Gordon, which is Rosalind. Two more sentences further provide demonstrations for Sophie’s new ferocity. The first of these two sentences is, “Her mouth twisted a little and she trembled. Harsh and bitter.” Here, the motion of Sophie’s mouth “twisting” produces the connotation that she is struggling to control herself, the word “trembling” provides essentially the same implication. “Harsh and bitter” is added on in order to again describe her resentment towards Rosalind, who she views as a threat. The imagery that the author uses establishes a tense mood towards Sophie and characterizes her as highly uninhibited in her