Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Choose one aspect of Victorian life that Flatland is critiquing and write an essay in which you explore the novel’s use of the satiric mode. To what extent does it use humor? To what extent does it use harsh criticism or invective? Does it offer any correctives for the problem, and if so, are they effective?

Write an essay in which you argue that Flatland is a utopian or a dystopian narrative. In other words, do any of the worlds it presents—Flatland, Lineland, or Pointland—strike you as desirable or ideal? Are any of them particularly dark, frightening, or undesirable? Support your answer with textual evidence.

When Flatland was published, many readers were outraged at its representation of women; however, in the years since, most scholars have come to believe that the novel was critiquing misogynistic attitudes rather than endorsing them. How do you interpret the text’s depiction of gender roles? Given what you know about the satiric mode, do you see this depiction as satirical, or was Edwin A. Abbott offering his personal opinion? Use textual evidence to defend your position.