Maddy Kirkwood

July 18th, 2022

Reading Reflection #8 – Alexandria 

The Novel & Spirituality 

In the novel Alexandria, there are a number of elements of overlay landscape; for example, the people in the small Edg community are seemingly living in what was left of the natural earth as we know it whilst being barraged by the Alexandria simulation society, which is constantly watching and monitoring them.
Additionally, Alexandria has a few representations of romantic relationships but not necessarily of marriage. One could view this as a disregard for the cosmic symbolism of marriage. On the other hand, the reader could read these relationships between mother and father and Sfia and her relationships with Nzil and Lorenso as simple partnerships rather than as traditional marriages.

Kingsnorth made an interesting choice when he chose not to specify whether his characters are unified under marriage. However, the author makes it clear that there is not a large religious community on the Edg; therefore, the need for an official union under God and unification of a community may not be as important to this group of survivors. By applying this moral reading of the novel, the reader can evaluate their views on marriage and how our societies use hierarchies to categorize married and unmarried people.

The Edg community do still hold some elements of spirituality that stem from Christian and Pagan traditions and customs, such as the swallow ritual and worshipping Lady, which is seen as Mother Earth. There is tension within their small community when someone is unfaithful to their partner, therefore, showing that the virtue of fidelity is important to the Edg community. This is also evident in the cosmic effect that the “Earth Mother” and “Sky Father” have on the people of the Edg. Mothers and fathers in this story have spiritual archetypes behind them and can help the reader understand the novel through an overlay landscape lens, showing an earthly yet spiritual frame of the world these characters live in.