Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

The novel uses the motif of interiority and exteriority to develop its discussions of scientific exploration and the subjective nature of perception. One way it does this is by using diagrams to depict the inside of Flatland dwellings in highly detailed ways. For example, in the diagram of The Square’s home as he sees it from Spaceland, not only are all the rooms visible and labeled, but so are the positions of his wife and two policemen standing outside (65). This concern with how structures are built and how people interact with those structures speaks to a larger concern with the relationship between perspective and perception. Again and again throughout the book, what characters are capable of seeing depends on where they stand. The Square, for example, becomes obsessed with the fact that from Space, he can see inside every building in Flatland, and indeed, inside every inhabitant’s body. This newfound vision raises new questions about scientific inquiry as it relates to concerns about privacy and bodily autonomy, as the Square later begs the Sphere to let him see inside the latter’s body too, expressing a particular interest in viewing the Sphere’s internal organs. The Sphere’s refusal to open himself up for viewing speaks to an anxiety about the effects that outside observation might have on the integrity of individual bodies. In other words, the text implies that scientific exploration is not always justified in its desire to violate the boundaries between interior and exterior.