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The Bird-Men
The fish-men are another of the Blazing World’s many hybrid races, and like the worm-men, they are natural philosophers by trade. The fish-men specialize in studying the ocean’s makeup, currents, and animal life. Because they are at home both on land and in the sea, they are key to the Empress’s military campaign in the second part of the book. For instance, they find the hidden passageway back to her native world and allow her to stand on their backs (so that she looks like a goddess who can walk on water).
The Fish-Men Quotes in The Blazing World
The The Blazing World quotes below are all either spoken by The Fish-Men or refer to The Fish-Men. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
The Duchess answered, that since she heard by her Imperial Majesty, how well and happily the world had been governed when she first came to be Empress thereof, she would advise her Majesty to introduce the same form of government again, which had been before; that is, to have but one sovereign, one religion, one law, and one language, so that all the world might be but as one united family, without divisions; nay, like God, and his blessed saints and angels: otherwise, said she, it may in time prove as unhappy, nay, as miserable a world as that is from which I came.
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Part 2 Quotes
The Empress before she came in sight of the enemy, sent some of her fish- and bird-men to bring her intelligence of their fleet; and hearing of their number, their station and posture, she gave order that when it was night, her bird-men should carry in their beaks some of the mentioned fire-stones, with the tops thereof wetted; and the fish-men should carry them likewise, and hold them out of the water; for they were cut in the form of torches or candles, and being many thousands, made a terrible show; for it appeared as if all the air and sea had been of a flaming fire; and all that were upon the sea, or near it, did verily believe, the time of judgement, or the last day was come, which made them all fall down, and pray.
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The Empress appeared upon the face of the water in her imperial robes; in some part of her hair she had placed some of the star-stone, near her face, which added such a lustre and glory to it, that it caused a great admiration in all that were present, who believed her to be some celestial creature, or rather an uncreated goddess, and they all had a desire to worship her; for surely, said they, no mortal creature can have such a splendid and transcendent beauty, nor can any have so great a power as she has, to walk upon the waters, and to destroy whatever she pleases, not only whole nations, but a whole world.
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Get the entire The Blazing World LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Fish-Men Character Timeline in The Blazing World
The timeline below shows where the character The Fish-Men appears in The Blazing World. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
The Description of a New World, Called the Blazing World
...that snow is a frothy mixture of water and fire from the moon. Meanwhile, the fish-men have discovered that ice is made of water mixed with vapor from the seas. The...
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Next, the fish-men and worm-men tell the Empress about animals in the sea and on land. The fish-men...
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The Empress asks about reproduction, and the worm- and fish-men also explain that, in some animals, the offspring look just like the parent, but in...
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The worm- and fish-men debate whether springs shrink and grow over time because of underground water flows, or because...
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The Second Part of the Description of the New Blazing World
...promises to help with the war effort. First, she tells the Empress to have the fish-men look for a route back to her original world. They find a passage, but it’s...
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...in the Empress’s body, together with the Empress’s. Then, the Duchess hatches a plan. The fish-men will remain on the underwater ships, which are indestructible because they’re made of gold, but...
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The Empress follows the Duchess’s plan, and her army of bear-, bird-, worm-, and fish-men assembles at the entrance to the passage. The fish-men drag the ships through the underwater...
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...wears shining clothing made of star-stone and appears to be walking on water, because the fish-men support her on their backs. Her country’s people start to worship her, and she gives...
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...fight against the Empress’s native country. These other countries form a large fleet, but the fish-men still easily defeat them with fire-stone.
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...is a goddess. The same night, she puts on a show with the bird-men and fish-men: they light up the sky and sea using the fire-stone, she appears in her own...
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...World’s elixir of youth than its gold and diamonds. The Empress promises to send the fish-men looking for a passage from the Blazing World to the Duchess’s world, and she declares...
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...covered in shining diamonds and driven by unicorns. She explains how giants guard the Empress, fish-men and bird-men sing to her on her seafaring journeys, and fox-men and ape-men race for...
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