Horses appear in almost every chapter of The Chrysalids. David, Rosalind, Petra, and the Wenders all use horses as quick and convenient means of escape. Angus Morton’s great-horses are a source of concern for Joseph Strorm, who believes that they are Deviations, and when Joseph punishes David for concealing Sophie’s mutation, he does so with a horse whip. Horses are also used by those pursuing David, Rosalind, and Petra. Unencumbered horses—the Wenders’ cartless horse, for example, or Sheba, whom David and Rosalind ride bareback to flee from their home—are symbols of freedom in the novel. When horses are restrained, however, they come to symbolize restraints on freedom. For example, when David and Rosalind are leaving their home, they hear the synchronized footsteps of the patrols coming to search for them. Further, when Petra ventures into the forest, her pony is injured, and it is the injury to the pony that catalyzes the search for the telepaths.
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Horses Symbol Timeline in The Chrysalids
The timeline below shows where the symbol Horses appears in The Chrysalids. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...for Waknuk because he believed the people around him were immoral. Elias’ wife, described as “coltish,” was not as firm a believer as her husband. David tells us that his own...
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Chapter 4
...not forget it for the rest of his life. When the leader dismounts from his horse, David realizes that he is a foot-and-a-half taller than a normal man. The man motions...
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...with Angus Morton, with whom he has a long-standing disagreement, over whether or not the “great-horses” which Angus has newly acquired constitute an Offense. Joseph complains to the Inspector that the...
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Chapter 5
...to David that they must leave forever. The Wenders have always kept bags packed and horses ready for a moment like this, when someone they could not trust found out about...
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...David denies this, but his father asserts that he is lying. He takes the Inspector’s horse whip, and, despite the Inspector’s protests, ferociously beats David.
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Chapter 7
Harriet rides away on a horse. Joseph is dismayed that she was so arrogant as to not be ashamed of her...
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Chapter 11
...other members of the group receive a compelling call from Petra, who has ridden a pony into the sometimes-dangerous forest that separates Waknuk from the Fringes. While not as strong as...
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David rides his horse into the forest until he reaches Petra, whose pony is being attacked by a mutated...
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Chapter 12
...Petra need to flee immediately. As they leave the house, they hear the sound of horse hooves approaching. They do not have time to saddle their own horse, Sheba, so they...
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...so that they can better pretend to be normal. Rosalind has taken her father Angus’s great-horses, so David and Petra send their horse Sheba back home. They ride away from Waknuk...
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Chapter 13
That night, a “horseman” finds the fugitives and shoots arrows at them. He misses, but Rosalind shoots his horse...
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...God really is. That night, David, Petra, and Rosalind are discovered and shot at. Their horses bolt, taking them into the forest. Something falls from a tree and crushes David in...
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Chapter 14
The woman from Zealand ceases communicating, and Rosalind, David, Petra, and the great-horses on which they are riding stop. The men put the fugitives on the ground, and...
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