Canopus in Argos

Canopus in Argos: Archives is a sequence of five science fiction novels by Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Doris Lessing which portray a number of societies at different stages of development, over a great period of time. The focus is on accelerated evolution being aided by advanced species for less advanced species and societies.

The novels take place in the same future history, but do not relate a continuous storyline. Each book covers unrelated events, with the exception of Shikasta and The Sirian Experiments, which tell the story of accelerated evolution on Earth through the eyes of Canopeans and Sirians respectively.

The Canopus in Argos series as a whole falls into categories of social or soft science fiction ("space fiction" in Lessing's own words) due to its focus on characterization and social-cultural issues, and its de-emphasis of the details of scientific technology. This set of writings represented a major shift of focus for Doris Lessing, influenced by spiritual and mystical themes in Sufism, in particular by Idries Shah. She later wrote several essays on Sufism which were published in her essay collection, Time Bites (2004).

Novels

1. Shikasta (1979, ISBN 0394507320)
2. The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1980, ISBN 0394509145)
3. The Sirian Experiments (1980, ISBN 0394512316)
4. The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (1982, ISBN 039451906X)
5. The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire (1983, ISBN 0394529685)

The five works have also appeared compiled in a single volume entiled Canopus in Argos: Archives (1992, ISBN 0679741844).

Plot summaries

1. Shikasta – A secret history of Earth from the perspective of the advanced Canopus civilization that is thinking in eons rather than centuries. The history spans from the very beginning of life into our own future and has quite some allegorical accuracy to it. Ends with a metaphorical telling of the trial of Socrates.
2. The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five – Depicts the influence of unknown higher powers on interactions between a series of civilizational "zones" of varying degrees of advancement that encircle the planet Earth. One zone is representative of an overtly feminine high civilization initially coupled by royal marriage to a militant and male civilization. The novel culminates with the latter, male, civilization allying with a tribal female realm again due to directives from Canopus.
3. The Sirian Experiments – Focuses, like Shikasta, on the history of Earth, but from the perspective of visitors from Sirius rather than Canopus. The Sirians are depicted as a highly managed society with fascist overtones, that attempt experiments on lesser civilizations while trying to mitigate the stagnation of their ruling class. The story is told from the perspective of one of their five ruling oligarchs, Ambien II.
4. The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 – The story of the civilization on a planet that, due to interstellar changes, is slowly facing extinction, and Canopus's relationship with them. The story is greatly influenced by Robert Falcon Scott's Antarctic expedition, and is Lessing's homage to it.
5. The Sentimental Agents in the Volyen Empire – A story of Canopean agents on a less advanced planet; explores hazards of rhetoric and mirrors events in revolutionary societies like Communist Russia.

Background

When Lessing began writing Shikasta she intended it to be a "single self-contained book". But as her fictional universe developed, she found she had ideas for more than just one book, and ended up writing a series of five.

The reaction of reviewers and readers to the first two books, Shikasta and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five, prompted Lessing to write in the Preface to the third book, The Sirian Experiments:

I would so like it if reviewers and readers could see this series, Canopus in Argos: Archive, as a framework that enables me to tell (I hope) a beguiling tale or two; to put questions, both to myself and to others; to explore ideas and sociological possibilities.

Adaptations

The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 and The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five were adapted for the opera by composer Philip Glass with librettos written by Lessing.

• The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 (1986)
• The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five (1997)

References

External links

• Canopus in Argos: Archives Doris Lessing homepage.