The Blazing World

The first section of The Blazing World is a miniature version of the medieval romance form. It includes many of that genre’s tropes: a villainous merchant kidnapping the beautiful heroine, the gods interfering on behalf of their favorite, a sea voyage to an unknown land full of fantastical creatures, and an Emperor marrying the heroine at the end of the story. Moreover, by only referring to the Lady by her title and dwelling at length on “the light of her Beauty, the heat of her Youth” (61), Cavendish exaggerates the power of appearance just as traditional romances often do. However, Cavendish subverts readers’ expectations by making her female protagonist an active participant, capable of quickly learning a new language, and judged fit to run an empire. This subversion is feminist in nature, presenting the utopian possibilities of including women in politics, science, and literature.

The Blazing World’s claim to the science fiction genre is readily apparent from the start, as Cavendish proposes not only the existence of two non-Earth planets—the Lady’s original one and the Blazing World itself—but also the idea that these planets are connected at their north poles. Rather than describe this imagined link as magical, the way a fairy tale or medieval romance would, Cavendish relies on the quasi-scientific explanation that the sun prevents the new world from being seen—a distinct feature of science fiction. Similarly, the Blazing World’s scientific and technological advancements, including futuristic ships, use the language of the Scientific Revolution to imagine the possibilities of engineering innovation.

The Blazing World is a utopian absolute monarchy, whose complete unity of language, beliefs, and polity makes it a Paradise: The various animal-men “spake to each other very courteously; for there was but one language in all that World: nor no more but one Emperor, to whom they all submitted with the greatest duty and obedience, which made them live in a continued Peace and Happiness” (67). Cavendish specifies that her Empress is born to the job: Her goodness, beauty, and her right to rule are so overwhelming that she appears to be a goddess. The Lady marks her ascension to the throne with outward markers of office: She puts on gems, since no one can “wear Jewels but the Emperor, the Empress and their Eldest Son,” and carries “a Buckler, to signifie the Defence of her Dominion” and “a Spear […] cut like the tail of a Blazing Star, which signified that she was ready to assault those that proved her Enemies” (70). This display of martial power seems at odds with the text’s insistence on the contentment of the animal-men and the peaceful nature of the land, but it will eventually justify the Blazing World’s return to uniformity and the Empress’s invasion her original planet. Cavendish suggests that the Blazing World is an aspirational political structure, as befits a fervent monarchist committed to supporting the English monarchy.

Cavendish infuses the Blazing World with her ideas about economics—a very newly emerging strain of thought in the mid 17th century. The society as a whole “no Coyn, but all their Traffick was by exchange of several Commodities” (70), a state of economic organization that goes against the prevailing belief in mercantilism and protectionism through high tariffs and the discouragement of exports. What’s more, by having the imperial city’s buildings be built out of “an infinite quantity both of Gold and precious Stones,” which in that World are so plentiful that they are basically worthless, Cavendish devalues the economic power of the very materials mercantilists such as Thomas Mun and Sir William Petty advocated hoarding within England.

The Blazing World’s citizens have a variety of skin tones. They are “not white, black, tawny, olive- or ash-coloured; but some appear'd of an Azure, some of a deep Purple, some of a Grass-green, some of a Scarlet, some of an Orange-colour” (72). The hybrid animal-men’s colorful skin point to the period’s growing interest in race and increasing scientific interest in anatomy and biology. Cavendish explains these skin tones through the quasi-scientific language of science fiction as “made by the bare reflection of light, without the assistance of small particles; or by the help of well-ranged and order'd Atoms; or by a continual agitation of little Globules; or by some pressing and re-acting motion” (72)—possibilities that refute Robert Boyle’s work for the Royal Society. In his Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours (1664), Boyle contradicted the contemporary belief that climate determines skin color, instead describing it as an inherited trait—a conclusion based on evidence. Here, Cavendish ascribes different skin tones to a variety of climates, adhering to the older theory.