central Blaw:
The book is in the form of a sup posedly unfinished serpt, written by Avis Everhand the daughter of a umorsily professor Doting its course she becomes a rovolutionary ander the influence of her husband, Ernest Everhard depicted in the book as the revolationary superman extruordinary: and is is the depiction of the relationship between these two which is the books MOUTHPIECE Avis is simply the mouthpiece of the author, and nothing of her individual personulity is revealed. Enost, on the other hand, It so crudely over drawn as the plysically, Intellectually and political ly perfect revolutionary that be appears Indictoos. Avis's adulation of Emest, the complete identitication of her own character and ideas with luis, must remain one of the least liberuted visions of inter personal relationships in fiction This sharply illustrates the unevennes of revolutionary consciousnesness at a time when personal and scual areas of life were still soon as "private and unrelated to the class struggle. Aris's conversion to socialismt as a result of Ernest's influence, their macriage, ber continued devotion to him are taker by London as the unquestionably natural counse af Everytiting is in hartony, love is press in it restless quest to extract profit and protect its interests is ex client Howover the Liter sections or the hovel when the workers" uprising ane suppressed and the revolutionaries are Torood underground, read more like science fiction than socialist writing London's revolutionary party in an cute group of subversives, waing semiterrorist methods, wilch is mainly concerned lo infiltrate the organs of the class enemy to gain intonnation, rather than buld roob in all sections of the masses. Given that the novel was written before the full development of the Bolshevik theory of the party, this is not too Sirprising perhaps This conception of revolution, which negleets the role of the masses, inevitably colours his depletion of the people of the abyss"-unemployed and unempley. able, low in intelliggnce and culturewhom it is the inh of the party to free. His vision of the masses fleeing the Enettes, during the ill fated Citicago Commune, borders on contempt and is Tull of fear of the dynamic of mass action Indeed they are portrayed as basically impotent, vengeful, drunken, and halfmad -a vison of working cinss anper and action closer to that of the bourgeoisie In ils more featte moments, mither than whnt one would expect from the pen of a