Erewhon by Samuel Butler (1872)

Erewhon presents a traveler’s encounter with a bizarre society where illness is deemed a crime and moral shortcomings are met with empathy, resulting in a justice system filled with absurdities. This exploration of societal norms challenges conventional views on health and morality, revealing the perplexing beliefs of the Erewhonians.

By Samuel Butler · First published 1872 · Genre: Satire, Philosophical Fiction, Science Fiction · 29 chapters

Contents

• Waste Lands
• In the Wool-Shed
• Up the River
• The Saddle
• The River and the Range
• Into Erewhon
• First Impressions
• In Prison
• To the Metropolis
• Current Opinions
• Some Erewhonian Trials
• Malcontents
• The Views of the Erewhonians Concerning Death
• Mahaina
• The Musical Banks
• Arowhena
• Ydgrun and the Ydgrunites
• Birth Formulae
• The World of the Unborn
• What they Mean by It
• The Colleges of Unreason
• The Colleges of Unreason-Continued
• The Book of the Machines
• The Machines-Continued
• The Machines-Concluded
• The Views of an Erewhonian Prophet Concerning the Rights of Animals
• The Views of an Erewhonian Prophet Concerning the Rights of Vegetables
• Escape
• Conclusion

More by Samuel Butler

• Erewhon Revisited (1901)
• Hudibras (1663)
• The Way of all Flesh (1903)
• All works by Samuel Butler