Stories, History, and Perspective Theme Analysis

The Power is a book with in a book—and its framed structure highlights the consequences of how society’s stories are told. Neil, the author of the book within Alderman’s novel, as well as Tunde, both reveal how important perspective can be to the creation of history. Through these characters, Alderman indicates that history and stories are yet another branch of power, because how a story is told can shape how society remembers its history and how history, in turn, can alter how people think about the present.

The book is presented as a kind of historical fiction written by Neil. It posits a version of history to show how women came to be the dominant sex in the 10 years before “the Cataclysm,” an event which occurred 5,000 years prior to the book’s creation. Through Neil’s exchanges with Naomi, Alderman demonstrates how history can be written to support what is understood in the present, not necessarily to convey the truth. Naomi writes to Neil, after reading the book, to say that she finds it hard to believe that there were mostly male soldiers in the pre-Cataclysm era, because in school they had been taught that, historically, male soldiers were very rare. Thus, to her, it makes more sense that women should provoke the war in the book. Her reaction is one example of how a predominant narrative can prevail over the truth. Naomi also notes that “A whole battalion of men in army fatigues or police uniforms really does make most people think of some kind of sexual fetish,” because men in power are treated more like a fantasy than a reality. Again, Alderman illustrates how a generally accepted stereotype can override reality. Neil argues against Naomi’s points, writing explicitly that “The way we think about our past informs what we think is possible today. He argues that many of the people shaping early “post-Cataclysm” history books (usually nuns, he notes) would have had their own agendas in writing them—that if they recopied works that said men used to be stronger than women, that “would be heresy and they’d be damned for it.” The perspective of those telling a story is equally important, as they have the power to control what people know hundreds or thousands of years in the future.

Within the narrative itself, Tunde becomes a primary documenter of the years before the Cataclysm. But when his work is stolen by a woman named Nina, Alderman argues how the ability to tell a story is an extension of power. At first, before people truly understand what the power is, Tunde records videos of women using their power as a way to help himself make sense of what is happening. When he realizes that other people are trying to understand this as well, he begins selling footage to media outlets. As he watches women fight on the beach, he thinks, “You do what you like […] I’m the one who’s going to turn it into something. I’ll be the one who’ll tell the story.” Tunde recognizes explicitly that being able to control what people see constitutes a type of power. Tunde carefully observes revolutions in Riyadh and Delhi, supporting the women’s movements as they liberate themselves from repressive regimes. But as he reports on Tatiana Moskalev’s rise in Bessapara, he sees the impending danger of her desire to curb men’s freedoms. When he tries to sell the story to CNN and other companies, they refuse. He also discovers that he no longer has access to media sites like YouTube where he could post his own videos to try and gain media attention. Thus, his lack of ability to tell his story leads to a direct loss of power, and it also prevents him from warning others of the same fate worldwide. Instead, Tunde sends his materials—photos, videos, and writings of interviews that he plans to turn into a book—to a fellow journalist he had been involved with named Nina. But he discovers later that Nina, thinking that he had died, has taken all of his material and published it as her own, gaining widespread acclaim. Alderman thus demonstrates how the erasure of the author can be just as harmful as an erasure of material. The success of Tunde’s book would have allowed him to provide a different perspective than a woman who has just gained power, but his subsequent work is (presumably) lost to history.

Neil also includes images in his book of historical artifacts, which date to various times within the 5,000 years between the Cataclysm and the time in which Neil lives. The way that the artifacts are presented emphasizes how society can be shaped by historical viewpoints. One image depicts a kind of monument, in which its central square portion has been completely destroyed. Based on Neil’s writing to Naomi, it is implied that this is one of many statues and monuments to male figures that were destroyed during the Cataclysm. It demonstrates how society not only creates history, but erases history to serve those in power. The book also includes two images of statues on pages 239-240—the first statue is a figure of a woman in a proud pose, and the second is a bust of a man. In the book, the two statues are labelled “Priestess Queen” and “Serving Boy.” Alderman reveals in the Acknowledgements of the book that these two drawings are based on real historical artifacts entitled “Dancing Girl” and “Priest King.” The difference in labels demonstrates how a discrepancy of perspective and intention can deeply alter how people view and judge history.

Indeed, Alderman writes directly to the reader, “Sometimes I think the whole of this book could be communicated with just this set of facts and illustrations.” As Alderman knows well, stories are crucial to how people think about history, and exploring new perspectives and trying to imagine different versions of history is a worthwhile exercise to make readers question how their own history has been examined, told, and retold.