History Literature / TheChrysalids

...and then, finally, on their efforts merely to defend themselves at all costs. Because as much as their society loathes the deviants they can see and thus control, the notion of ones they can't on either count terrifies them into all-out racial war -- a war which may only ultimately be winnable by a civilization still more ruthlessly determined to survive.

''The Chrysalids'' is a ScienceFiction novel written by Creator/JohnWyndham, first published in 1955.

''The Chrysalids'' is a ScienceFiction novel written by JohnWyndham, first published in 1955.

* DeusExMachina: The arrival of the Sealand rescue party is literally this, given that the descent of their has been foreshadowed throughout the latter part of the book, but they still actually show up at an awfully convenient moment.

* CursedWithAwesome: Petra's telepathic ability is much stronger than that of the other main characters, especially for her age, and she's able to communicate with other telepaths over a distance of several thousand miles. Unfortunately, this means she's also able to unconsciously 'command' the others to rush to her aid, leading to the group's discovery. Even once she's trained and aware enough to control herself better, when she gets excited any nearby telepaths are stunned and "blinded" (the last scene is of her thus stunning ''the entire Sealand city'').

* AndManGrewProud: Thought to be the reason behind Tribulation. Ironically -- as Uncle Axel points out -- even if this is basically correct, the new society has drawn exactly the wrong lessons from it.

In this theology born of ignorance and fear, any radiation-bred mutation -- no matter how slight -- is interpreted as either a Deviation (plants, animals) or, more horribly still, a Blasphemy: a human-shaped but soulless mockery of God's perfection sent by Satan to lure Man off the faint and narrow path to righteousness. They all must be ruthlessly rooted out and destroyed lest they contaminate the purity of Godly society... ie. burned or slaughtered immediately. In the case of the almost-humans, there is just enough mercy that they are merely banished at birth to the wild country known as the Fringes, to survive or not as they can.

* AndManGrewProud: Thought to be the reason behind Tribulation. David's best friend and uncle Axel lampshades the irony: while this is basically correct, the new society has taken exactly the wrong lessons from it.

* AssholeVictim: Alan Erwin is specifically called out as this. Nobody's much upset when Joseph diees either, not even his children.

In this theology born of ignorance and fear, any radiation-bred mutation -- no matter how slight -- is interpreted as either a Deviation (plants, animals) or, more horribly still, a Blasphemy: a human-shaped but soulless mockery of God's perfection sent by Satan to lure Man off the faint and narrow path to righteousness. They all must be ruthlessly rooted out and destroyed lest the contaminate the purity of Godly society... ie. burned or slaughtered immediately. In the case of the almost-humans, there is just enough mercy that they are merely banished at birth to the wild country known as the Fringes, to survive or not as they can.

* SecretKeeper: All the telepaths for each other, as well as Sophie's parents and David's Uncle Axel. To an extent, Aunt Harriet and Rosalind's mother, leading David to wonder just how many other mothers might be willing to take chances for their slightly-abnormal offspring.
** Dramatically inverted when Anne, one of the telepaths, outs the group to her husband (who is killed before he can do anything about it).

* {{Telepathy}}: What sets David & company apart from normal humans; it's referred to as "thought-shapes" by the group's members, who can communicate only with each other, and only receive what's sent (although Petra is beginning to evince a uncomfortable ability to detect 'behind-thinks'). They share this with the Sealand woman and the majority of the members of her society, with "normal" humans being the exception for them. It's hinted that Sophie and her mother may have limited access to this ability as well, but it's not something they're aware of. David actually tests Sophie's mother but cannot make contact.

* KickTheDog: When David's best friend Sophie and her parents are captured, the first thing Joseph does is announce it loudly to the inspector -- while ''sneering'' at David, who is all of about ten and at this point is crying audibly.

* TheResenter: Sophie becomes this toward Rosalind when the two meet later in the novel; Rosalind is David's LoveInterest, and could also possibly give Sophie's lover Gordon babies, while Sophie herself is incapable of this.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never do find out just what happened to Sophie's parents after they left Waknuk and were captured (except that even Uncle Axel doesn't like to speculate on it). We also don't find out what happened to Uncle Axel, or for that matter the rest of David and Rosalind's family. The fate of Sally and Mark, the telepaths who abruptly stop transmitting, is also left vague; the others assume they're dead, and we know Sally is at least deeply traumatized, but the concrete details are never given the reader.

The only document that has survived from the time of the 'Old People' is the Bible, from which the inhabitants infer that 'Tribulation' must have been a judgement on their arrogance in the style of the destruction of Jerusalem. Taking this together with a later book called 'Repentances', the new society aims to rebuild in God's perfect image. Everything that lives, from vegetables to animals to human beings, is expected to conform to this image, the Norm, as laid out by the Definition of Man.

Any radiation-bred mutation is interpreted as either a Deviation (plants, animals) or, more horribly still, a Blasphemy: a soulless homunculus sent by Satan -- hence, detectable by its imperfection -- to lure Man off the faint and narrow path to righteousness. They all must be ruthlessly rooted out, ie. burned or slaughtered immediately... or, in the case of humans, banished to the still-wild country known as the Fringes to survive or not as they can.

Against this backdrop, our narrator David Strorm and several other children discover that they have a mutation that is not visible to the naked eye -- they are able to communicate with each other by means of telepathy, or "thought-shapes". The story centers first on their efforts to conceal this ability, then their struggle to define it against what they and others understand as the True Image...

...and then, finally, on their efforts merely to defend themselves at all costs. Because as much as their society loathes the deviants they can see and thus control, the notion of ones they can't on either count terrifies them into all-out racial war... a war which may only be winnable by a civilization still more ruthlessly determined to survive.

* AffablyEvil: The inspector. He's shown as an amiable, basically humane bureaucrat who strongly objects to Joseph's harsh inflexibility, and his treatment of David particularly. However he's also an unimaginative man who ''never'' questions his mission; it's indicated that he thus takes part in the relentless interrogation of the captured telepaths, leading to their deaths.

* AssholeVictim: Alan Erwin, and Joseph Strorm.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Joseph Strorm gets this from the inspector on a number of occasions. Notably, the use of 'great-horses' which have been approved by the Government as the result of controlled breeding, but which Joseph insists are Deviations due to their unusual (26 hands) height:

* CursedWithAwesome: Petra's telepathic ability is much stronger than that of the other main characters, especially for her age, and she's able to communicate with other telepaths over a distance of several thousand miles. Unfortunately, this means she's also able to command the others to rush to her aid when she's panicked, leading to the group's discovery. Even once she's trained and aware enough to control herself better, when she gets excited any nearby telepaths are stunned and "blinded" (the last scene is of her thus stunning ''the entire Sealand city'').

* DeusExMachina: The arrival of the Sealand rescue party has been foreshadowed throughout the latter part of the book, but they still actually show up at an awfully convenient moment.

* FeudingFamilies: David's and Rosalind's. Their fathers make a point of spying on each other's farms in order to publicly point out deviations in the crops or livestock.

* FreudianExcuse: We learn early in the novel that Joseph Strorm, David's father, got his way of thinking from his own father, Elias.
* TheFundamentalist: Joseph Strorm. And, really, the majority of Labrador's population as a whole.

* {{Irony}}: A recurring theme in the book. The fact that Joseph Strorm, the most extreme of the fundamentalist, mutant-hating population of Waknuk has ''two'' children that are mutants is just the tip of the iceberg.
* JerkAss: Alan. So much so, in fact, that following his death, it's discovered that [[AssholeVictim he's made a number of enemies.]] Joseph Strorm is this trope taken to horrifying levels.

* KnightTemplar: Joseph Strorm. Early in the novel he harshly punishes David when the latter makes an innocent remark about needing a third arm to tie a difficult knot -- because he interprets it as David ''wishing'' to be a mutant.

* {{Masquerade}}: David and the other telepaths, being physically normal but possessing telepathic powers, work to hide these powers from their villages' general populace for as long as they can.

* OnlySaneMan: Played straight to an extent with the inspector, who isn't as fundamental as his rural society is and basically only purges mutants because it's his job.

* OverprotectiveDad: Sophie's father is initially quite wary of David -- the son of the local SinisterMinister -- hanging around his mutant daughter.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: Gordon intends to force Rosalind to have relations with him so she can bear his children. Fortunately, he fails.

* RunForTheBorder: David, Rosalind and Petra are forced to do this in the latter half of the novel, when one of the other telepaths is forced through ColdBloodedTorture to reveal their mutual secret.
* SecretKeeper: Directly, all the telepaths for each other, as well as Sophie's parents and David's Uncle Axel. To an extent, Aunt Harriet and Rosalind's mother, leading David to wonder just how many other mothers might be willing to take chances for their slightly-abnormal offspring.

* TheStoic: David's mother Emily, based on her interactions with him. Rosalind is largely this way as well, even toward David at times despite him being her LoveInterest.
** NotSoStoic: Emily eventually shows herself to be this after Aunt Harriet's visit. And Rosalind's cool exterior is revealed to be a deliberate 'armour'.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never do find out just what happened to Sophie's parents after they left Waknuk and were captured (except that even Uncle Axel doesn't like to speculate on it). We also don't find out what happened to Uncle Axel, or for that matter the rest of David and Rosalind's family. The fate of Sally and Mark, members of the telepathic group who abruptly stop transmitting, is also left vague; the others assume they're dead, and we know Sally is at least deeply traumatized, but the concrete details are never given the reader.

Any radiation-bred mutation is interpreted as either a Deviation (plants, animals) or, more horribly still, a Blasphemy: a soulless homunculus sent by Satan -- hence, detectable by its imperfection -- to lure Man off the faint and narrow path to righteousness. They must be ruthlessly rooted out, ie. burned or slaughtered immediately... or, in the case of humans, banished to the still-wild country known as the Fringes to survive or not as they can.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Joseph Strorm, to David.

* AndManGrewProud: Thought to be the reason behind Tribulation. Uncle Axel lampshades the irony: while this is basically correct, the new society has taken exactly the wrong lessons from it.

* CallingTheOldManOut: Joseph Strorm gets this from the inspector on a number of occasions. Notably, the use of 'great-horses' which have been approved by the Government as the result of controlled breeding, but which Joseph insists are Blasphemies due to their unusual (26 hands) height:

* FateWorseThanDeath: In-story, being banished to the Fringes is considered this, as not only are Blasphemies officially not human (being considered instead the soulless spawn of Satan), they're basically tossed into wild, savage country as tiny children to survive or die as chance wills.

The only document that has survived from the time of the 'Old People' is the Bible, from which the inhabitants infer that 'Tribulation' must have been a judgement on their arrogance in the style the destruction of Jerusalem. Taking this together with a later book called 'Repentances', the new society aims to rebuild in God's perfect image. Everything that lives, from vegetables to animals to human beings, is expected to conform to this image, the Norm, as laid out by the Definition of Man.

The only document that has survived from the time of the 'Old People' is the Bible, from which the inhabitants infer that 'Tribulation' must have been a judgement on their arrogance in the style the destruction of Jerusalem. Taking this together with a later book called 'Repentances', the new society aims to rebuild in God's image. Everything that lives, from vegetables to animals to human beings, is expected to conform to the Norm, as laid out by the Definition of Man.

''We've got to believe that God is sane, Davey-boy...''

** Dramatically inverted when Anne, one of the telepaths, outs the group to her husband (who is luckily killed before he can do anything about it).

Against this backdrop, our narrator David Strorm and several other children discover that they have a mutation that is not visible to the naked eye -- they are able to communicate with each other by means of telepathy, or "thought-shapes". The story centers first on their efforts to conceal this ability, then their struggle to define it against what they and others understand the True Image...

* DoubleStandard: As per the generally primitive attitude to biology, any woman who gives birth to three deformed or mutated children in a row is banished from society... but apparently their husbands don't suffer any repercussions, instead being allowed to seek other women as new wives.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: David has a mysterious dream in the very first chapter, about - as he describes them - 'carts driving without horses to pull them', fish-shaped machines flying, and shining cities with lots of lights; and he wonders if any such place really exists. When he asks his sister, she suggests that it may be a description of what the world used to look like before Tribulation, then warns him not to tell anyone else about it. Of course, it later turns out it's not a dream...

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: David gets this when he tries to defend Sophie from Alan and Rosalind from his uncle Gordon.
* NotSoDifferent: The Sealand woman views the Labrador people as essentially fighting against their own inevitable extinction in the face of a superior human variant, and comments that they, the 'think-together people', will have to do the same one day. Earlier, while in the Fringes, David comments that, barring -- necessary tolerance of deviation -- the mutants aren't all that different from the townspeople of Waknuk.

* OurAncestorsAreSuperheroes: Played with, given that current Labrador society has only the vaguest idea of technology. It's suggested the 'Old People' had superhuman strength, and could even fly. A companion rumor, first mentioned by Uncle Axel, indicates that they could even communicate with each other over long distances -- just like David & company.

** All the telepaths toward their powers, at some point. Anne goes so far as to try to 'stop' herself in order to marry a norm; in more pragmatic, intelligent Michael's case, David sums it up this way:

* RunForTheBorder: David, Rosalind and Petra are forced to do this in the latter half of the novel, when one of their TrueCompanions is forced through ColdBloodedTorture to reveal their mutual secret.

* WorldHalfFull: Despite living a terrible world, David and his friends still end their journey on a positive note.

* BerserkButton: The mere mention of deviation is enough to inspire fear and horror, as per the scene in which DAvid innocently suggests he could've used a third hand to accompish a task and is beaten for it. The inspector enjoys pressing Joseph's buttons specifically.

* ChekhovsGunman: Both David and Petra serve as this. David, because his strange childhood dreams allow him to confirm Petra's second-hand description of 'Sealand' (actually, as per its description, New Zealand); Petra, because her strong "thought-shapes" allow the Sealand woman to home in on her and thus have an idea of where to find the protagonists later.

* CursedWithAwesome: Petra's telepathic ability is much stronger than that of the other main characters, especially for her age, and she's able to communicate with other telepaths over a distance of several thousand miles. Unfortunately, she's also able to command the others to rush to her aid when she's panicked, leading to the group's discovery. Even once she's trained and aware enough to control herself to an extent, when she gets excited any nearby telepaths are 'blinded'(the last scene is of her stunning ''the entire Sealand city'').

* DeadpanSnarker: The inspector and Michael.

* DefrostingIceQueen: Rosalind, during the latter half of the book.

* DoubleStandard: As per the generally primitive attitude to biology, any woman who gives birth to three deformed or mutated children in a row is banished from society...but apparently their husbands don't suffer any repercussions, instead being allowed to seek other women as new wives.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: David has a mysterious dream in the very first chapter, about - as he describes them - 'carts driving without horses to pull them', fish-shaped machines flying, and shining cities with lots of lights; and he wonders if any such place really exists. When he asks his sister, she suggests that it may be a description of what the world used to look like before "Tribulation," then warns him not to tell anyone else about it. Of course, it later turns out it's not a dream...

* IJustWantToBeNormal: Anne. David also prays for this at one point, out of fear fr himself arising from what he's witnessed happening to mutated crops and animals.

* KnightTemplar: Joseph Strorm. Early in the novel he harshly punishes David when the latter makes an innocent remark about needing a third arm to tie a difficult knot - because he interprets it as David ''wishing'' to be a mutant.

* NotSoDifferent: The Sealand woman views the Labrador people as essentially fighting against their own inevitable extinction in the face of a superior human variant, and comments that the 'think-together people' will have to do the same one day. Earlier, while in the Fringes, David comments that, barring -- necessary tolerance of deviation -- the mutants aren't all that different from the townspeople of Waknuk.

* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler: Gordon basically intends to force Rosalind to have relations with him so she can bear his children. Fortunately, he fails.]]
* TheResenter: Sophie becomes this toward Rosalind when the two meet later in the novel; Rosalind is David's LoveInterest, and could possibly give Sophie's lover Gordon babies, while Sophie herself is incapable of this.

* {{Telepathy}}: What sets David & company apart from normal humans; it's referred to as "thought-shapes" by the group's members, who can communicate only with each other, and only receive what's sent (although Petra is beginning to evince a uncomfortable ability to detect 'behind-thinks'). They share this the Sealand woman and the majority of the members of her society, with "normal" humans being the exception for them. It's hinted that Sophie and her mother may have limited access to this ability as well, but it's not something they're aware of. David actually tests Sophie's mother but cannot make contact.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never do find out just what happened to Sophie's parents after they left Waknuk [[spoiler:and got captured]]. We also don't find out what happened to Uncle Axel, or for that matter the rest of David and Rosalind's family.

* AuthorTract: Several pages are given over to philosophic discourses on the nature of man and God as they relates to evolutionary change and growth

Against this backdrop, our narrator David Strorm and several other children discover that they have a mutation that is not visible to the naked eye -- they are able to communicate with each other by means of telepathy, or "thought-shapes" as they refer to it. The story centers first on their efforts to conceal this ability, then their struggle to define it against what they and others understand the True Image...

* AutorTract: Several pages are given over to philosophic discourses on the nature of man and God as they relates to evolutionary change and growth

Against this backdrop, our narrator David Strorm and several other children discover that they have a mutation that is not visible to the naked eye -- they are able to communicate with each other by means of telepathy, or "thought-shapes" as they refer to it. The story centers first on their efforts to conceal this ability, then their struggle to define it against what they and others understand the True Image ... and then, finally, on their efforts merely to survive at all costs.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the story tells how the inhabitants of Labrador, and especially in the community of Waknuk, live in a society where literally everything - from vegetables to animals to human beings - is expected to conform to certain specific descriptions of what is constituted as normal (identified as "The Norm" - in the image of God, according to the given definition). Any deviation from the norm is labeled as a Mutant or Blasphemy and is either killed or burned immediately, or, in the case of humans with physical deformities or oddities, banished to a forbidden land-stretch known as the Fringes.

During this time, David Strorm (the narrator) and several of his friends discover that they have a mutation that is not visible to the naked eye - they are able to communicate with each other by means of telepathy, or "thought-shapes" as they refer to it. The story centers on their efforts to conceal this ability in a society that is [[FantasticRacism violently unforgiving of all things different from the norm.]]

SPOILERS ABOUND. BEWARE.

* ActionGirl: Both Rosalind and Sophie qualify (the latter during the second half of the book).
* AffablyEvil: The inspector, arguably. He sympathizes with David's home life (considering that David has a monster for a father) and [[EvenEvilHasStandards strongly objects]] to [[spoiler:Joseph's ColdBloodedTorture of his own son.]] However, it's indicated that he takes part in the interrogation of the captured telepaths, which in turn causes the three main characters to flee Waknuk for their lives.
** Gordon [[spoiler: The Spider-man]] could be possibly seen as this, considering that he knows that the mindset of Waknuk is incredibly messed up and knows the situation David's coming from all too well [[spoiler: considering the fact that he's David's ''uncle'' and was banished from the Strorm family for frivolous reasons; having spidery like arms.]] He also [[spoiler: kills Joseph in revenge of being robbed of his birthright and because Joseph's a monster.]] Then he lives up to the "Evil" part in AffablyEvil by [[spoiler: trying to rape Rosalind so he can have babies]].

* AndManGrewProud: Implied to be the reason behind "Tribulation."
* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler:David, Rosalind, Petra, Rachel and Michael are the only survivors among the titular group by novel's end.]]
* AssholeVictim: Alan Erwin. [[spoiler: And Joseph Strorm.]]
* AsTheGoodBookSays: Not only the Bible, but also the book "Repentances" and a document known as "The Definition of Man," that give specific conditions for man, beast and crops to be considered normal and not deviant. Joseph Strorm and other like-minded religious zealots are fond of quoting these sources to justify their actions and behavior.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Sophie. Alan learned it the hard way.
* BerserkButton: Mutants are one to the populace of Waknuk in general.
** The inspector could be considered as one to Joseph, since he's so good at pressing Joseph's other {{Berserk Button}}s.
** David is fiercely protective of Petra and Rosalind and he won't shy away from even fighting [[spoiler: his own uncle]] to keep them safe.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Strorm family can't be considered anything else but this trope.
* BlackSheep: Aunt Harriet, to the point that following her visit, she's never spoken of again.

* BookEnds: The novel begins with David dreaming about a futuristic city and ends with [[spoiler:him, Rosalind and Petra actually going there.]]
* BoringButPractical: When David and Petra are getting ready to flee, he deliberately decides to arm himself with a bow and arrow as opposed to taking the family's hunting rifle. He makes this choice because (1) guns are heavy to carry, whereas bows and arrows are much lighter; (2) guns are slow to reload; (3) guns are useless once you run out of gunpowder (which is what all guns in the novel use), whereas you can retrieve and re-use arrows as many times as needed.
* BrokenBird: Sophie. [[spoiler:Being forced to undergo female castration will do that.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: Joseph Strorm gets this on a number of occasions. One such moment is during an argument with the inspector over the use of great-horses which have been approved by the Government, but which Joseph insists are Blaspemies due to their unusually huge size (which the inspector declares has happened as a result of controlled, Government-sanctioned breeding):
--> '''Joseph Strorm:''' It is your moral duty to issue an order against these so-called horses.
--> '''Inspector:''' It's part of my official duty to protect them from harm by fools and bigots.
** David later contemplates whether to do this to his father, but he's convinced not to venture out to face Joseph.
* CharacterDevelopment: David experiences this over the course of the novel.
* CheerfulChild: Petra. Of course, she's only 9 years old, too young to fully appreciate the grim reality of her world.
** She does get an idea of the seriousness of what's happening around her when she sees Sophie's expression of resentment toward Rosalind, and in her childlike innocence she attempts to comfort a now-weeping Sophie.
* ChekhovsGun: Petra's extraordinarily powerful telepathy, which is stronger than the others' telepathy.
* ChekhovsGunman: Both David and Petra serve as this. David, because his strange childhood dream at the story's beginning allows him to [[spoiler:confirm Petra's second-hand description of S/Zealand]]; Petra, because her strong "thought-shapes" allow the S/Zealand woman to home in on her and thus have an idea of where to find the protagonists later.
** The minor character Jerome Skinner, certainly. He's only seen in person for one brief scene [[spoiler:but he's the one who outs the protagonists to the authorities.]]
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: In the first chapter, David mentions that he has another older sister named Sarah. She is never mentioned again.
* ChurchMilitant: Many of the preachers described in the story, but Joseph Strorm is the prime example.

* CrapsackWorld: The kindest possible description of the world David lives in.
* CrazyPrepared: Rosalind. David, too, but not to Rosalind's extent, which earns him a stinging rebuke from her.
* CursedWithAwesome: Petra's telepathic ability is much stronger than that of the other main characters, especially for her age, and she's able to communicate with other telepaths over a distance of several thousand miles. As a side effect, other telepaths who are much closer to her experience severe headaches and blinding mental images.

* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: Joseph Strorm is killed by not just a mutant, but his own mutated brother who was banished for being one.]]
* DefrostingIceQueen: Rosalind, David's half-cousin.
* DeusExMachina: The arrival of the S/Zealand woman. It's made less of an AssPull by the mere fact that the main characters are assured of its happening throughout the latter half of the novel.
* DoubleStandard: Any woman who gives birth to three deformed or mutated children in a row is banished from society...but apparently their husbands don't suffer any repercussions, instead being allowed to seek other women as new wives. Children get DNA contributed from ''both'' parents, so have the men never considered that it might be themselves, and not their women, who are the cause of the biological mutations seen in their children? The attitude is consistent with the generally fundamentalist, patriarchal society.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Anne and Aunt Harriet.]]

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: "Tribulation," implied to have been the result of nuclear warfare, wiped out a lot of civilization and drastically altered the landscape and caused mutations on a wide scale - all prior to the beginning of the novel. The residual effects of said "Tribulation" is responsible for the genetic deformities and irregularities that the society David lives in constantly seeks to destroy [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything in an effort to maintain "purity"]].
* FantasticRacism: Taken UpToEleven and going both ways for the Norms and the Mutants/Blasphemies, with Joseph Strorm being the worst known offender in the book.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Being banished to the Fringes is this for a ''lot'' of people. This view is quite justified, as because of the long-term effects of nuclear fallout, the living conditions there are...hazardous for anyone who's not tough enough to survive, to put it mildly.
* FeudingFamilies: David's and Rosalind's fathers do NOT get along; in fact, they make a point of spying on each other's farms in order to publicly point out deviations in the crops or livestock.
* FootFocus: Sophie is seen barefoot, or taking off her shoes, in most of her appearances throughout the novel. Unlike most instances of the trope, however, it's not played for FanService, and each time she goes barefoot it ends up being plot-relevant (due to her having six toes on each foot).
* {{Foreshadowing}}: David has a mysterious dream in the very first chapter, about - as he describes them - carts driving without horses to pull them, fish-shaped machines flying, and shining cities with lots of lights; and he wonders if any such place really exists. When he asks his sister, she suggests that it may be a description of what the world used to look like before "Tribulation," then warns him not to tell anyone else about it. [[spoiler:It later turns out it's not a dream.]]
* FriendlyEnemy: The inspector, somewhat.
* FreudianExcuse: We learn early in the novel that Joseph Strorm, David's father, got his way of thinking from his own father, Elias. That doesn't excuse his later atrocities.

* HarmfulToMinors: Like you wouldn't believe, in-universe.
* HeroicBSOD: Rosalind has one after being forced to shoot a man who was covertly hunting her, David and Petra following the trio's flight from Waknuk.

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: [[spoiler:Uncle Axel's murder of Alan to protect the titular group's secret.]]
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Anne. David also prays for this at one point, out of fear of what he's witnessed happening to mutated crops and animals and fearing that the same may happen to him if he's found out.

** He's actually had ''four,'' if you count the two mutated children David's mother had before Petra (referenced by Joseph following Aunt Harriet's visit). Which thus makes the irony all the more bitter (also see DoubleStandard, above).
* JerkAss: Alan. So much so, in fact, that following his death, it's discovered that [[AssholeVictim he's made a number of enemies.]]
** Joseph Strorm is this trope taken to horrifying levels.
* KickTheDog: [[spoiler: When Sophie and her parents are captured, the first thing Joseph does is announce it loudly to the inspector and David and then he ''sneers'' at David, who at this point is crying audibly.]]
* [[KillAllHumans Kill All Mutants]]: A recurring theme. [[spoiler:The humans ''also'' get killed near the end of the novel]].

* LaserGuidedKarma: Joseph Strorm was instrumental in getting numerous innocent people banished to the Fringes for having physical deformities or other oddities that did not conform to the stipulated guidelines of "normality." [[spoiler:During the climactic final battle his brother Gordon, who was banished as a child for this very reason, singles out Joseph in the crowd and shoots him dead with an arrow.]]
* {{Masquerade}}: David and the other telepaths, being physically normal but possessing telepathic powers, have to hide these powers from their villages' general populace out of fear of FantasticRacism. By the second half of the novel, their secret's out in the open, causing David, Rosalind and Petra to go on the run.
* MercyKill: In the second half of the book, Michael instructs David to do so to Petra and Rosalind if the trio are caught.

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: David gets this [[spoiler: Gordon, the spider man]].
* NotSoDifferent: The argument presented in [[http://www.sfreviews.net/chrysalids.html this review]] of the novel suggests that, in terms of personality and motivation, [[spoiler: the S/Zealanders are really no different from Labrador's society]].
** While in the Fringes, David comments that, barring tolerance of deviation, the mutants in the fringes aren't different from the townspeople of Waknuk.
* OffingTheOffspring: Joseph Strorm joins one of the hunter bands seeking out David and Petra in order to do this. [[spoiler:He ends up being offed by his long-banished brother instead.]]
* OnlySaneMan: On one hand, you could see this being played straight with the inspector, who isn't as fundamental as Waknuk is and only purges mutants because it's his job, but on the other hand, you could see this trope being ''inverted'' as Joseph Strorm's the only one that's really extreme about purging mutants.
* OurAncestorsAreSuperheroes: A rumor described in the book indicated that the precursors could communicate over long distances, just like {{Telepathy}}. However, this was aided by technology rather than being a superpower.
* OverprotectiveDad: Sophie's father is quite wary of David being around his daughter, although considering the kind of [[FantasticRacism society]] Waknuk is, one really can't blame him. It doesn't help that David is the son of the local SinisterMinister.
* ProperlyParanoid: Sophie and her parents at the start of the novel. By the time the second half gets underway, the titular group is this way as well.

* TheResenter: Sophie becomes this toward Rosalind when the two meet later in the novel, likely because Rosalind is David's LoveInterest that Sophie used to be, but also because Rosalind could possibly give Sophie's current lover Gordon babies, while Sophie herself is incapable of this [[spoiler:due to being forcibly made sterile before being banished to the Fringes]].
** Gordon is this toward Joseph Strorm as well. [[spoiler:Because Gordon, the older of the two brothers, was banished to the Fringes as a child for having spider-like limbs, losing his rightful inheritance as the oldest son to Joseph.]]
** A case could be made for David being this toward his father. Late in the novel, upon being told that Joseph is part of the party that's come to the Fringes to take part in the battle, David recalls all the stress and trauma his father has put him through all his life, and [[{{Angst}} angsts]] over whether to forgive the man or try to kill him. However, the S/Zealand woman advises David to leave Joseph be.
** It's hinted that both Anne and Michael may have felt this way regarding [[IJustWantToBeNormal their powers.]] So much so in Anne's case, in fact, that she closes off her mind to the others, not even replying to their mental messages. In Michael's case, David sums it up this way:

* SecretKeeper: David's Uncle Axel. [[spoiler:And Rosalind's mother.]]
* SinisterMinister: Joseph Strorm, yet again.
* SitcomArchNemesis: The inspector to Joseph Strorm.
** The inspector loves to invoke Joseph's NeverLiveItDown moment with the tailless cat, deliberately takes his time in coming to inspect Petra and ''then'' deliberately prolongs said examination just to get Joseph riled up. Take that as you will.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: David starts the novel on the idealistic side, but by the time the second half of the novel starts, he's going more toward the cynical end of the scale.
** Michael, one of the Chrysalids, is already on the cynical end of the scale near the end of the novel's first half. As is the woman from S/Zealand.
** Near the end, pretty much everyone is on the cynical end, Petra being the only exception. Justified since she's only 9.
** Rosalind is mainly on the cynical side for the majority of the novel. By the very end of the story, however, there's a hint that she's beginning to go toward the idealistic side.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The main characters debate about whether S/Zealand's name should in fact start with an "S" or a "Z." [[spoiler:It's "Z."]]

** NotSoStoic: Emily eventually shows herself to be this after Aunt Harriet's visit. Rosalind gradually [[DefrostingIceQueen mellows]], too.
* {{Telepathy}}: What sets the Chrysalids apart from normal humans; it's referred to as "thought-shapes" by the group's members. The known individuals who can use this ability, aside from David himself: Rosalind, Michael, Sally, Katherine, Rachel, Anne, Mark, and later Petra, whose telepathy is the strongest of the bunch but also [[CursedWithAwesome largely uncontrollable]] due to her young age. There's also the S/Zealand woman and the majority of the members of her society, with "normal" humans being the exception for them. [[spoiler:It's hinted that Sophie and her mother may have limited access to this ability as well, but it's rather vague. David actually tests Sophie's mother with no success.]]
* TheChosenOne: Petra is described as this to the S/Zealand woman.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: We never do find out just what happened to Sophie's parents after they left Waknuk [[spoiler:and got captured]]...
** We also don't find out what happened to Uncle Axel, David's mother and David's sister.

* XMeetsY: Franchise/{{X-Men}} meets ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' (though the book predates both examples listed)

** David's mother, Emily, could also qualify, seeing as the only reason why she's acts so distant and uncaring towards David in general, especially after [[spoiler: Joseph beats him]] is probably because she's afraid of Joseph. Also, she only sent Harriet and her [[spoiler: mutated]] baby away not because she wanted to, but because Harriet's plan[[hottip:*: which was to swap Petra with her baby]] would have no real chance of working. She's not proud of doing so either, seeing as she cries after doing it. When you consider just how much of a monstrous bastard Joseph proves himself to be even before this event, you really can't help but feel sorry for Emily.
* FriendlyEnemy: The inspector, somewhat.

* XMeetsY: XMen meets VideoGame/{{Fallout}} (though the book predates both examples listed)