![Jessie Willcox Smith - The Water Babies - p236 (Restored)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Jessie_Willcox_Smith_-_The_Water_Babies_-_p236_%28Restored%29.jpg)
''The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby'' is a children's novel by
Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...
. Written in 1862–63 as a serial for ''
Macmillan's Magazine'', it was first published in its entirety in 1863. It was written as part satire in support of
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's ''
On The Origin of Species
''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...
''. The book was extremely popular in the United Kingdom and was a mainstay of British children's literature for many decades, but eventually fell out of favour in America in part due to its claimed prejudices against Irish, Jews, Catholics, and Americans.
Story
The protagonist is Tom, a young
chimney sweep, who falls into a river after encountering an upper-class girl named Ellie and being chased out of her house. There he appears to drown and is transformed into a "water-baby", as he is told by a
caddisfly—an insect that sheds its skin—and begins his
moral education. The story is thematically concerned with Christian
redemption, though Kingsley also uses the book to argue that England treats its poor badly, and to question
child labour
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, among other themes.
Tom embarks on a series of adventures and lessons, and enjoys the community of other water-babies on
Saint Brendan's Island
Saint Brendan's Island, also known as Saint Brendan's Isle, is a phantom island or mythical island, supposedly situated in the North Atlantic somewhere west of Northern Africa. It is named after Saint Brendan of Clonfert. He and his followers ar ...
once he proves himself a moral creature. The major spiritual leaders in his new world are the fairies Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby (a reference to the
Golden Rule), Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid, and Mother Carey. Weekly, Tom is allowed the company of Ellie, who became a water-baby after he did.
Grimes, his old master, drowns as well, and in his final adventure, Tom travels to the end of the world to attempt to help the man where he is being punished for his misdeeds. Tom helps Grimes to find repentance, and Grimes will be given a second chance if he can successfully perform a final penance. By proving his willingness to do things he does not like, if they are the right things to do, Tom earns himself a return to human form, and becomes "a great man of science" who "can plan railways, and steam-engines, and electric telegraphs, and rifled guns, and so forth". He and Ellie are united, although the book states (perhaps jokingly) that they never marry, claiming that in fairy tales, no one beneath the rank of prince and princess ever marries.
The book ends with the caveat that it is only a fairy tale, and the reader is to believe none of it, "even if it is true."
Interpretation
In the style of
Victorian-era novels, ''The Water-Babies'' is a
didactic
Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature, art, and design. In art, design, architecture, and landscape, didacticism is an emerging conceptual approach that is driven by the urgent need to ...
moral
fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...
. In it, Kingsley expresses many of the common prejudices of that time period, and the book includes dismissive or insulting references to Americans,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Blacks
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
, and
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, particularly the
Irish.
The book had been intended in part as a satire, a tract against
child labour
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...
, as well as a serious critique of the closed-minded approaches of many scientists of the day in their response to
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
's ideas on
evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, which Kingsley had been one of the first to praise. He had been sent an advance review copy of ''
On the Origin of Species
''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life''),The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by Me ...
'', and wrote in his response of 18 November 1859 (four days before the book went on sale) that he had "long since, from watching the crossing of domesticated animals and plants, learnt to disbelieve the dogma of the permanence of species," and had "gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of Deity, to believe that He created primal forms capable of self development into all forms needful ''
pro tempore
''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...
'' and ''
pro loco In Italy, Pro Loco (the term is both singular and plural) are grass-roots organizations that seek to promote some particular place, almost always a town and its immediate area; ''pro loco'' is a Latin phrase that may be roughly translated "in f ...
'', as to believe that He required a fresh act of intervention to supply the
lacuna
Lacuna (plural lacunas or lacunae) may refer to:
Related to the meaning "gap"
* Lacuna (manuscripts), a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or musical work
**Great Lacuna, a lacuna of eight leaves where there was heroic Old Norse po ...
s which He Himself had made", asking "whether the former be not the loftier thought."
In the book, for example, Kingsley argues that no person is qualified to say that something that they have never seen (like a human
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
or a water baby) does not exist.
How do you know that? Have you been there to see? And if you had been there to see, and had seen none, that would not prove that there were none ... And no one has a right to say that no water babies exist till they have seen no water babies existing, which is quite a different thing, mind, from not seeing water babies.
In his ''Origin of Species,'' Darwin mentions that, like many others at the time, he thought that changed habits produce an inherited effect, a concept now known as
Lamarckism
Lamarckism, also known as Lamarckian inheritance or neo-Lamarckism, is the notion that an organism can pass on to its offspring physical characteristics that the parent organism acquired through use or disuse during its lifetime. It is also calle ...
. In ''The Water Babies'', Kingsley tells of a group of humans called the Doasyoulikes who are allowed to do "whatever they like" and who gradually lose the power of speech,
degenerate into
gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
s and are shot by the African explorer
Paul Du Chaillu. He refers to the
movement to end slavery in mentioning that one of the gorillas shot by Du Chaillu "remembered that his ancestors had once been men, and tried to say, '
Am I Not A Man And A Brother
AM or Am may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* A minor, a minor scale in music
* ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album)
* ''A.M.'' (Wilco album)
* ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album)
* ''AM'' (Arctic Monkeys album)
* AM (musician), American musicia ...
?', but had forgotten how to use his tongue."
![Water-babies 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Water-babies_2.jpg)
''The Water Babies'' alludes to debates among biologists of its day, satirising what Kingsley had previously dubbed the
Great Hippocampus Question as the "Great hippopotamus test." At various times the text refers to "Sir
Roderick Murchison
Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet, (19 February 1792 – 22 October 1871) was a Scotland, Scottish geologist who served as director-general of the British Geological Survey from 1855 until his death in 1871. He is noted for investigat ...
, Professor
(Richard) Owen, Professor
(Thomas Henry) Huxley, (and) Mr. Darwin", and thus they become explicitly part of the story. In the accompanying illustrations by
Linley Sambourne
Edward Linley Sambourne (4 January 18443 August 1910) was an English cartoonist and illustrator most famous for being a draughtsman for the satirical magazine ''Punch magazine, Punch'' for more than forty years and rising to the position of "Fir ...
, Huxley and Owen are caricatured, studying a captured water baby. In 1892 Thomas Henry Huxley's five-year-old grandson
Julian
Julian may refer to:
People
* Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363
* Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots
* Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints
* Julian (give ...
saw this engraving and wrote his grandfather a letter asking:
Dear Grandpater – Have you seen a Waterbaby? Did you put it in a bottle? Did it wonder if it could get out? Could I see it some day? – Your loving Julian.[Leonard Huxley, ''The Life and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley'' Volume 3, p. 256]
Huxley wrote back a letter (later evoked by the ''
New York Sun''s "
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" in 1897):
My dear Julian – I could never make sure about that Water Baby.
I have seen Babies in water and Babies in bottles; the Baby in the water was not in a bottle and the Baby in the bottle was not in water. My friend who wrote the story of the Water Baby was a very kind man and very clever. Perhaps he thought I could see as much in the water as he did – There are some people who see a great deal and some who see very little in the same things.
When you grow up I dare say you will be one of the great-deal seers, and see things more wonderful than the Water Babies where other folks can see nothing.[
]
Adaptations
The book was adapted into an animated film ''
The Water Babies'' in 1978 starring
James Mason
James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...
,
Bernard Cribbins and
Billie Whitelaw
Billie Honor Whitelaw (6 June 1932 – 21 December 2014) was an English actress. She worked in close collaboration with Irish playwright Samuel Beckett for 25 years and was regarded as one of the foremost interpreters of his works. She was al ...
. Though many of the main elements are there, the film's storyline differs substantially from the book, with a new sub-plot involving Tom saving the Water-Babies from imprisonment by a kingdom of sharks.
It was also adapted into a musical theatre version produced at the
Garrick Theatre in London, in 1902. The adaptation was described as a "fairy play", by
Rutland Barrington
Rutland Barrington (15 January 1853 – 31 May 1922) was an English singer, actor, comedian and Edwardian musical comedy star. Best remembered for originating the lyric baritone roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas from 1877 to 1896, his ...
, with music by
Frederick Rosse
Frederick Rosse (1867 – 20 June 1940) was an English composer of light music and operetta. After studying music in Germany and elsewhere, he began his career as a musical director at London theatres. He composed suites of incidental music for ...
, Albert Fox, and
Alfred Cellier
Alfred Cellier (1 December 184428 December 1891) was an English composer, orchestrator and conductor.
In addition to conducting and music directing the original productions of several of the most famous Gilbert and Sullivan works and writing th ...
. The book was also produced as a play by
Jason Carr and
Gary Yershon, mounted at the
Chichester Festival Theatre in 2003, directed by
Jeremy Sams, starring
Louise Gold
Louise Gold (born 1956) is an English puppeteer, actress and singer whose career has spanned more than four decades. She is best known for her work as a puppeteer on television and for roles in musical theatre in the West End.
Gold was raised ...
,
Joe McGann, Katherine O'Shea, and Neil McDermott.
The story was also adapted into a radio series (BBC Audiobooks Ltd, 1998) featuring
Timothy West,
Julia McKenzie
Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAFT ...
, and Oliver Peace as Tom.
A 2013 update for
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
written by
Paul Farley
Paul Farley, FRSL (born 1965) is a British poet, writer and broadcaster.
Life and work
Farley was born in Liverpool. He studied painting at the Chelsea School of Art, and has lived in London, Brighton and Cumbria. His first collection of poetr ...
and directed by Emma Harding brought the tale to a newer age, with Tomi having been
trafficked
''Trafficked'' is a 2017 American thriller drama film directed by Will Wallace and starring Ashley Judd, Sean Patrick Flanery and Anne Archer.
Plot
In California, Sara is eighteen and has to leave her foster home; she is offered training to be a ...
from
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
as a
child labourer.
In 2014 it was adapted into a musical by Fiona Ross and Sue Colverd, with music by David Last. A shortened version premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2014, with the full version being produced at the Playhouse Theatre, Cheltenham in 2015 by performing arts students of the
University of Gloucestershire
, mottoeng = In Spirit and Truth
, established =
, type = Public
, endowment = £2.4 m (2015)
, chancellor = Rennie Fritchie, Baroness Fritchie
, vice_chancellor ...
. It was performed, again by students, in the same venue in June 2019.
In 2019 the story was adapted into a folk opera performed at
The Sydney Fringe Australia from a musical score and libretto composed by musician and librettist Freddie Hill in 1999.
Notes
Pater O'pee : see Wild Sports of the West, W.H. Maxwell, London, E.P. publisher, 1850. An intricate solo dance involving stepping in and around sticks or staves laid crosswise on the ground.
References
*
* 2nd edition. Retrieved on 2007-07-20
* (
The Autobiography of Charles Darwin
''The Autobiography of Charles Darwin'' is an autobiography by the English naturalist Charles Darwin.
Darwin wrote the text, which he entitled ''Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character'', for his family. He states that he star ...
) Retrieved on 2007-07-20
External links
*, 1915 edition illustrated by
W. Heath Robinson
William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives.
In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson contr ...
*
''The Water Babies'', illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smithat The University of Adelaide Library
rchived
*
Full text of a version illustrated by Henry Altemus, at the Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, The
1863 British novels
1863 fantasy novels
1860s children's books
Anti-Catholic publications
British children's novels
British fantasy novels
British satirical novels
Novels by Charles Kingsley
British novels adapted into films
Novels adapted into radio programs
British novels adapted into plays
Novels first published in serial form
Works originally published in Macmillan's Magazine
Charles Darwin
Criticism of creationism
Antisemitic novels