The Chrysalids: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

David tells the reader that Aunt Harriet’s suicide was the most disturbing event in his life so far. He dreams of her lying in the river, holding her baby. The fact that even the slightest abnormality could result in death frightens David, and he prays to God to make him normal. The next morning, however, he is still able to communicate with Rosalind. David was so young when Sophie had to flee that he did not fully understand what was happening, but he is now terrified that someone will find out about his ability.

David tells Uncle Axel about the conversation he overheard between his mother and Aunt Harriet. Uncle Axel responds, once again, that no one can be certain of what is normal. He questions why the people of Waknuk spend so much time trying to emulate the Old People if they were destroyed by Tribulation. He cannot understand why God might want to punish a people for sinning, but also cannot understand how the resulting deviations fit into that plan. To him, the rampant mutations are “beneath the wisdom of God.” David quotes back to Uncle Axel the sayings he has heard at church, but Uncle Axel tells him that these are meaningless and empty words, and that even the preachers themselves do not understand them.

Uncle Axel asks a lot of philosophical questions about whether there is any point in trying to be like the Old People in a world that is totally different from theirs, and one that might just end in another Tribulation. David does not understand most of what he is saying. Uncle Axel, knowingly speaking heresy, tells David that it is not the Definition that defines a man, but rather his mind. He does not take issue with the church’s insistence on getting rid of deviations—not because he believes deviations to be impure, but rather unhelpful. He tells David that no one needs multiple arms and legs. He believes that man’s mind is more important than his body, and that David and Rosalind have reached a new level of the mind that they should value rather than wish away.

David tells the reader that he only starts to understand what Uncle Axel was saying when Michael (a member of the group of telepaths) goes to school. One of the others in the group, Walter, had stopped communicating, and everyone feared that his ability may have been found out. Uncle Axel discovers, however, that this was due to an accident rather than someone’s finding out the group’s ability. They decide to learn each other’s names—Michael, Sally, Katherine, Mark, Anne, Rachel, and Rosalind—to avoid any future stress or confusion.

Michael’s parents decide to send him to school in a neighboring town, and Michael shares what he learns with the others in the group. When the group thinks about his lessons together, everyone in it is able to understand the lessons better than they could on their own. David enjoys his increased access to knowledge, but notes that it also poses a problem for the group. Everyone needed to remember how much he or she was supposed to know and to pretend to know less than they did. Although there are a few slip-ups, they live for six years without being caught, until another person joins their group.