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Chapter 1
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Every Living Thing, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Change vs. Stasis in Nature
Winners and Losers in History
Science vs. Religion
Racism vs. Equality
Summary
Analysis
The Swedish city of Uppsala long rivaled Stockholm as Sweden’s foremost city, but a fire in 1702 destroyed much of Uppsala, and it never fully recovered. In 1729, at Uppsala University, Professor Olof Celsius has dedicated himself to a book about plants that focuses on the 126 species mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. But Celsius struggles with the task, as references to plants like “hyssop” are difficult to untangle. One day, while going to a remote garden to think about his book, Professor Celsius finds a young Carl Linnaeus already there.
The differing fates of the cities of Uppsala and Stockholm show the role that chance events can play in history, perhaps paralleling the eventual fates of Linnaeus and Buffon. Olof Celsius’s work shows how closely science and religion were intertwined during this time period. While some scientists would challenge this connection, from the beginning, Linnaeus sees his work as connected to his beliefs.
Active
Themes
Celsius is amazed by Linnaeus’s ability to name and identify plants in the garden. He learns that Linnaeus has amassed a collection of over 600 native wildflowers, three times as many as the number of plants in the Uppsala University Botanical Garden. Celsius invites Linnaeus to come with him back to his home. After failing to accomplish much at the small University of Lund, Linnaeus has recently transferred to the larger Uppsala.
Linnaeus shows an aptitude for botany from an early age, but when he’s younger, he struggles to communicate this interest, and it takes people like Olof Celsius to recognize Linnaeus’s talent. Linnaeus’s early years show how scientific discovery is not just about collecting data but also about communicating it to others clearly.
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Linnaeus is surprised to find that the medical department at the University of Uppsala is small and disorganized compared to the rest of the school. In fact, he learns that a degree from Uppsala won’t allow him to practice medicine in Sweden, so he will have to finish his program at yet another school. Discouraged about his medical future, he increasingly spends his time reading botanical books and exploring nearby gardens. This is what leads him to meet Celsius, where he makes minor contributions to Celsius’s in-progress botanical book.
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