Dream by S. Fowler Wright
"Dream: Or, The Simian Maid" is the first installment of a trilogy that explores the fantastical journey of Marguerite Leinster, who, through the influence of a magician, embarks on a dream adventure that stretches two weeks in real time but feels like a year to her. Within this dream, Marguerite transforms into a chimpanzee-like being named Rita, who becomes the protector of her fiancé Stephen's character, Stele, amidst a cave-dwelling tribe in a prehistoric setting. Accompanied by Stephen's sister, Elsie, who takes on the role of Elsya, the trio undertakes a quest assigned by the Law Maker of their tribe to find mates from unknown cultures while fending off threats from the savage Ogpurs.
The narrative delves into themes of love, sacrifice, and survival, as Rita, Elsya, and Stele navigate dangerous landscapes filled with alligator-infested waters and menacing swamp rats. The dynamic of their relationships evolves, culminating in tragic endings as Rita and Stele are separated by fate, while Elsya meets her demise during a fierce battle. The story raises questions about identity and the impact of one's alternate existence on reality, as Marguerite ultimately contemplates her experiences in the dream world upon her return to her life. This poignant tale invites readers to reflect on the complexities of love and the essence of existence within varied contexts.
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Dream
First published: 1931
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—evolutionary fantasy
Time of work: The 1920’s and a million years in the past
Locale: Unspecified but probably Europe
The Plot
Dream: Or, The Simian Maid was written as the first book of a trilogy that follows the adventures of Marguerite Leinster as she experiences a magician’s induced dreamworld. The magician causes a dream that will suspend Marguerite for two weeks in real time but will seem to her as if it lasts a year. Stephen Cranleigh, who is her fiancé, and his sister Elsie buy the same dream from the magician and follow her to a primitive land a million years in the past. Marguerite is incarnated as a chimpanzee-like creature named Rita who becomes the self-appointed guardian of Stephen’s persona, Stele, the Law Maker’s son in a cave-dwelling tribe. Elsie becomes Elsya, Stele’s sister. The Law Maker sends them both on a mission to find respective mates in other, unknown cultures that he assumes exist but are not under attack by the horrible Ogpurs, the savages constantly endangering his people.
Rita is a tree dweller with limited communicative skills. She is attracted to Stele, and she follows him and Elsya at a distance. She aids their journey by killing a tribe member bent on having Elsya as a mate and eventually guides them down a steep cliff to a land of people who have domesticated horses and who live in two environs, a valley protected by alligator-infested waters and a land bordered by ever-attacking swamp rats called Thlantus. An elaborate, labyrinthine cave system separates the two distinct kingdoms. A select force of neutered amazonian women protects both kingdoms. Their stealth in knife throwing controls adversity in the cliff environment and in the valley, and their skill as equestrian soldiers controls the battle with the deadly, sharp-toothed swamp rats.
The king of these lands agrees to have his son Thelmo marry Elsya but refuses his daughter’s hand to Stele. Left as companions, Stele and Rita consummate their love.
The king leads the royal party and visitors through the cave maze to the valley homeland. Because of the threat of the rats, Stele, Rita, and Elsya are sent back to the cliff site, where they learn of a plot to alter the treacherous path in the cave so that all who return will succumb to the “god” alligator living in a sacrificial pool. To warn the royalty, each journeys to the valley by a different path: Rita by cliff, Stele by cave, and Elsya by the precarious lake. Rita finds Stele on the opposite end of the cave in a dead-end crevice, and they both die, strained outstretched hands barely touching, from hunger and thirst. Elsya finds her love Thelmo during a horrendously bloody battle with the rats. She dies, her throat ripped open, with him and the brave Tekla. Upon return from the dreamworld, Marguerite finally acquiesces to marry Stephen as she ponders the reality of her alter-ego life as a simian.