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Stranger In a Strange Land
is a parable - and as such, it contains many hidden meanings,
especially in the names of the characters. And since it is also a
story by Heinlein, it is filled with multi-cultural references, historical
references and sometimes obscure slang phrases.
This is a glossary which includes both the meanings of characters' names and hard-to-find references (or words that might not appear in a standard dictionary.) |
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Abigail
- Source of joy
Aesculapius - Greek god of healing Alexandra - Defender of mankind Anne - Grace, mercy Becky - Bound Ben - Son of the right hand clem - Fight between carnival workers and townspeople. Dennis - Of Dionysus Dorcas - Gazelle Duke - Leader Fatima - Favorite daughter of Mohammed frail - (1930's slang) Girl or young woman Gillian - Youthful Harvey, William - English physician (1578 - 1657) wrote the first accurate account of the circulation of the blood. “I've got a little list...” - Song from The Mikado, by Gilbert & Sullivan, sung by the Lord High Executioner. Jubal - Father of all who play lyre and pipe Karthago delenda est - Phrase used by Roman orator Cato to end all his speeches. "Carthage must be destroyed!" King's X - Truce (signified by crossed fingers.) Larry - Crowned with laurel Lingayats - A priestly caste in India who wear the symbol of the lingam around their necks. lippman - Referring to journalist and commentator Walter Lippman. Matsyendra - Yoga posture - spinal twist. Michael - Who is like God Miriam - Rebellious nichevo - (Russian) nothing Occam’s razor - A theory should not propose the existence of anything more than is necessary for its explanation. Patricia - Of noble birth pau - (Hawaiian) Completed, consumed, finished. peccavimus - Confession Pepys and his diary - Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) whose diary is notable, in part, because it was written in code. Porlock - A man from Porlock wrecked Coleridge’s train of thought during the writing of Kubla Khan. pranha - Life force, vital energy Renshaw, Samuel - A psychologist who did work on visual perception, memory, and learning. He developed a method of teaching aircraft identification used in WW II. thirty - Refers to the end of a telegraph message: XXX (thirty in Roman numerals.) “tyle the door” - Term used in Freemasonry, meaning to guard the door against intruders. Valentine - Healthy Venus Genetrix - Venus The Universal Mother, divine ancestress of the Roman people. winchell - Referring to gossip columnist Walter Winchell. Wobblies - International Workers of the World (IWW) labor union. Zenobia - Given life by Zeus |
I make no apologies for omissions, but additions and corrections
to this list are welcome (especially if you know the reference to
Armattoe near the end of chapter 33.) If you have run into a word
or reference that has you stumped and isn't in this list, let me know
and I will try to include it.
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