Samuel Grant - Williams

10/26/18

Intro To Science Fiction

Reading Response No. 6 : A rose for Ecclesiastes

A rose for Ecclesiastes​ written by Roger Joseph Zelazny is there a science fiction story

the challenges the readers presupposed anthropocentric views and understanding culture in the

universe. In this short story the assumptions and misunderstanding of the gifted poet and linguist

Gallinger are the main source a narrative conflict. It is with this conflict that the reader's

preconceptions are challenged and the primary theme of culture and it's many complexities takes

form.

Our story takes place on Mars in the not-so-distant future, where human poet and linguist

Gallinger is selected by the largely isolationist martians as the first human to be allowed to learn

about their society. The story largely revolves around Gallinger's efforts to understand their alien

culture and to uncover the mysteries of the races past. He becomes the first human to ever learn

the “high language” of the Martian people and with it he's able to read their most sacred text. It is

at this point that Gallinger begins to make his first incorrect assumption about Martian Society.

He comes to view the Martians and their culture as ultimately fatalistic due to an event in the

distant past that left many of the Martian people sterile. As he continues his studies he gains the

respect of the Martian High Priestess and becomes seduced by a martian Temple dancer. With

this he is elevated to something of a prophet, and this position is further cemented when

somehow Gallinger successfully impregnates. This seemingly miraculous occurrence is the first
pregnancy in hundreds of years for the Martian people. As part of his efforts to continue the

cultural exchange and to fulfill his role as a prophet Gallinger does two things, first he translates

Book of Ecclesiastes into the Martian hitung Because he believes that it thematically matches

their own religious text. The second thing he does his procure a rose to exchange with the high

priestess as the Martian people have never seen such a flower.

After this things begin to escalate quickly Gallinger begins to become obsessed with his

love of the dancer girl and his child to be I'm completely consumed by his frustration of the

Martians fatalism. However this is where his assumptions will prove to be his undoing as he Sulu

begins to learn that the Martian religion is far more complicated than he had originally believed.

He learns that he has an inverted Lee become a figure of Prophecy and that he has brought life

and something new, the rose, into the lives of the Martian people. He learns that the dancer girl

did not actually love him and that only slept with him in order to fulfill the prophecy. This

revelation drives Gallinger to attempt suicide although he fails and when he regains

consciousness using his ship's Infirmary watching Mars grow further and further away as the

ship returns to earth and the story ends.

The character of Gallinger is most interesting because he shares many interesting

parallels with none of the author himself. Roger Zelazny much like his character creation is both

poet and author. Another interesting similarity used two men have is their relationship with the

women in their life. Roger Zelazny was married twice and engaged to a famous folk singer for

almost 6 months. This seems to be reflected in the fact that Gallinger falls madly in love with a

woman who ultimately doesn't love him. Gallinger acts not only as an author avatar within the

story but as something almost resembling a self-critique. The character Gallinger is thus a
self-made parody created by Roger Zelazny in order to articulate and criticize his own egocentric

tendencies. Gallinger is not only a genius, he is an insufferable genius and clearly is supposed to

represent an intellectual who takes himself far too seriously.

Another interesting way in which the story probably reflects the inner conflict and ideas

of its author is in its use of religious motifs. Roger Zelazny was raised Catholic and was noted to

incorporate figures and Concepts from various world mythologies. The references to Christian

mythology and cosmology are not just from the title being the direct reference to The Book of

Ecclesiastes. Roger Zelazny has gone on record to Stage that although he came from the strong

Catholic background somewhere in his past he became a lapsed Catholic. Therefore it is possible

that the Christian motifs within ​A Rose For Ecclesiastes​ are a direct reference to the author's own

personal spiritual journey.

In conclusion ​A Rose For Ecclesiastes​ is a short story that is deep personal reflection of

author Roger Zelazny own struggles with both love & Faith. This adds an extra layer of

emotional complexity to the story that keeps the readers engrossed and helps it stand out from its

peers in the genre. By being a story that is deceptively only about martians and the near future

when in reality it is a story is filled with themes of culture, love and self-identity, Roger

Zelazny's short story ​A Rose For Ecclesiastes​ has earned its place among the great Classics of

the science fiction genre.