WORK:

Mrs. Caliban

CREATED BY:

Rachel Ingalls

FORMAT:

Novella

SETTING:

Contemporary Earth

STORY ARC:

Dorothy’s empty life revolves around a cheating husband and shallow, self-centered friends. After a “dangerous” lizardman escapes from captivity and appears in her kitchen, an unusual and unexpectedly fulfilling relationship develops.

CHARACTERS:

Dorothy: human housewife
Larry: amphibious, lizard-like man
Fred: Dorothy’s adulterous husband
Interestingly, Dorothy and Fred’s last name is never mentioned. Caliban is a character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, depicted as a half-breed, freckled monster who is the reviled, ill-treated son of a witch and a demon.

BIG CONCEPTS:

Human-Reptilian romance. Why is this a notable concept? Because we have reptilian genetics in our heritage.

REMARKS:

The primary premise in this oddly touching story is that a neglected, betrayed housewife finds love and connection in the arms of a monstrous man. Most who read Mrs. Caliban assume the reptilian lover is complete fantasy, a conjuring in the mind of a lonely woman who sometimes hears voices.

Naturally I have another spin on the story.

I’ve always found it curious that a reptilian man becomes the hero and object of affection for the wounded protagonist. On the surface it appears to be a beauty-and-the-beast-type tale which has its own message and value, or the commonly assumed psychological study of a disenchanted wife.

But the portrayal of a reptilian as a gentle, sympathetic, physically attractive lover is startling and, for most people, dissonant. We think of reptilians as cold, unfeeling, somehow threatening or malevolent – with good reason. We have a long history of being manipulated, brutalized, or owned by draconian “gods.”

For some of us, there is a hidden, deeper significance to this story. I believe we carry cellular memory of reptilian beings we as humans have loved, beings who were unable to love us in return. I’ve experienced this myself. Perhaps this story is an expression of what we might desire from a relationship with a reptilian – the need or wish for our love to come back to us.

Strange – my mother gave me this novel when she learned my “bad guys” are reptilian. Thanks, mom – or whoever – for the unexpected insight.

Erin MacMichael is a visionary science fiction author and artist, creator of the T'nari Renegades series of novellas, novels, covers, and artwork. Her lifelong quest has been to explore past the boundaries of conventional thinking and figure out what really has transpired on this planet. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her marvelous offspring.

2 Comments

Womenos on August 10, 2019 at 11:37 am

Though she had previously shied from the limelight, Ms. Ingalls enjoyed a revival in her late after Mrs. Caliban was reissued in 2017.
- Erin MacMichael on August 10, 2019 at 12:07 pm
  
  That’s heartening to know. She was a talented lady. Thanks for your comment!

Save

WORK: Mrs. Caliban

CREATED BY: Rachel Ingalls

FORMAT: Novella

SETTING: Contemporary Earth

STORY ARC:
Dorothy’s empty life revolves around a cheating husband and shallow, self-centered friends. After a “dangerous” lizardman escapes from captivity and appears in her kitchen, an unusual and unexpectedly fulfilling relationship develops.

CHARACTERS:
Dorothy: human housewife
Larry: amphibious, lizard-like man
Fred: Dorothy’s adulterous husband
Interestingly, Dorothy and Fred’s last name is never mentioned. Caliban is a character in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, depicted as a half-breed, freckled monster who is the reviled, ill-treated son of a witch and a demon.

BIG CONCEPTS:
Human / Reptilian romance. Why is this a notable concept? Because we have reptilian genetics in our heritage.

REMARKS:
The primary premise in this oddly touching story is that a neglected, betrayed housewife finds love and connection in the arms of a monstrous man. Most who read Mrs. Caliban assume the reptilian lover is complete fantasy, a conjuring in the mind of a lonely woman who sometimes hears voices.

Naturally I have another spin on the story.

I’ve always found it curious, whether intentional or not on the part of the author, that a reptilian man becomes the hero and object of affection for the wounded protagonist. On the surface it appears to be a beauty-and-the-beast-type tale which has its own message and value, or the commonly assumed psychological study of a disenchanted wife.

But the portrayal of a reptilian as a gentle, sympathetic, physically attractive lover is startling and, for most people, dissonant. We think of reptilian as cold, unfeeling, somehow threatening or malevolent – with good reason. We have a long history of being manipulated, brutalized, or owned by draconian “gods.”

For some of us, it’s more than that. I believe we carry cellular memory of reptilian beings we as humans have loved, beings who were unable to love us in return. I’ve experienced this myself. Perhaps this story is an expression of what we might desire from a relationship with a reptilian – the need or wish for our love to come back to us.

Strange – my mother gave me this novel when she learned my “bad guys” are reptilian. Thanks, mom – or whoever – for the unexpected insight.

2 Comments

Womenos on August 10, 2019 at 11:37 am

Though she had previously shied from the limelight, Ms. Ingalls enjoyed a revival in her late after Mrs. Caliban was reissued in 2017.
- Erin MacMichael on August 10, 2019 at 12:07 pm
  
  That’s heartening to know. She was a talented lady. Thanks for your comment!