Analogy as Satire Theme Analysis

Throughout Flatland, analogy is used as the primary method for explaining new and unfamiliar concepts by using what’s already familiar to the one being taught. When the Sphere attempts to describe the third dimension, for example, he uses geometrical and arithmetic progression to help A Square make sense of the concept. However, it is soon obvious that analogy, or more specifically, words, fail to fully convey an unfamiliar concept because of the lack of a useful lexicon, or vocabulary. For instance, the Sphere gets stuck because he is unable to define “upward” and “figure” to the confused and frustrated A Square. Similarly, the word “side” also has a different meaning to the Flatlander than it does to the three-dimensional Sphere. Therefore, the teachers, such as the Sphere to A Square, or A Square to the Monarch of Lineland, resort to using deeds and actions (instead of words and analogies) in order to educate their respective pupils.

Abbott, thus, suggests the limitation of words to bring about change. In order to enlighten those who have not yet grasped new knowledge, he shows that the teacher must actively seek change through visual demonstration or physical motion. Since he could not describe “left” and “right” solely with words, A Square actually moves in and out of Lineland to actively demonstrate the directional motions. The Sphere touches the stomach of A Square to prove that he indeed can see into two-dimensional figures. When this fails, he physically takes A Square into Spaceland to prove the existence of the third dimension once and for all.

In a way, Abbott’s writing of Flatland is an educational action in and of itself. Just as the Sphere takes A Square into Spaceland to make A Square see the world in a new way, Abbott takes the reader into the fictional world of Flatland to demonstrate analogically the absurdities of Victorian society. To make this “deed” work, Abbott must fully create the world of Flatland—it must be something that his readers can see and feel. Abbott has A Square call the two-dimensional shapes of Flatland “humans”, “men”, and “people” because he needs them to feel real to readers. Only by creating a bizarre world that feels both real and like a very direct analogy to the way in which British society was organized during the Victorian Age, can Abbott satirize the dangers inherent in a society so strictly organized and run by those with and in power.