The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, widely regarded as one of Robert A. Heinlein’s best works, emerged from the heyday of science fiction to become an unquestionable classic—and a cornerstone for the philosophy of individual responsibility and democratic freedom. The story of a varied collection of men and women contending with the constantly evolving notions of humanity, technology, and free will is set against the backdrop of a revolution on a lunar penal colony, helped along by a self-aware supercomputer. These themes still have a powerful resonance today. Robert A. Heinlein, who even today “shows us where the future is,” provides readers with an unusual, thought-provoking look into his mind in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
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The revolution on the Moon is the subject of this book. Thus, its very engaging narrative is divided into three sections: The revolution is planned and organized in the first section up until it begins at the end of this section. The second section describes the major characters’ journey to Earth, which they purport to take place in order to negotiate with the Federated Nations but which is really really a prelude to future strategies. The Lunar people must fight themselves in the third and final section against the Terrans’ vicious attacks in order to protect their freshly won freedom.
Manuel Garcia “Mannie” O’Kelly-Davis, the main character of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, meets Wyoming Knott at a subversive meeting he doesn’t want to go to. He only goes because Mike the Supercomputer, a “thinkum dinkum” pal, can’t attend the meeting in person and asked Manuel to go on his behalf and report back to him. A police raid interrupts the meeting, and Manuel is given the task of defending Wyoming Knott, a keynote speaker from the Hong Kong colony, who was invited to speak. On the basis of Wyoming’s kiss, his quick wit, and his ability to gain Mike’s trust, Manuel is recruited to lead a revolution against the Warden and the Authority within the next twenty-four hours.
One of the book’s greatest strokes of genius is how the reader discovers through this chance encounter that Luna is a libertarian society without codified laws, whereas the Authority is a large, collectivist government akin to the Soviet Union that seeks to control every area of life in Luna. Although they advocate for an American-style free market economy, the subversives adopt revolutionary titles and hierarchies from the Soviet Union. The literary device of role reversal forces the reader to reconsider their presumptions regarding labels and the actual truths to which they are applied.
The importance of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress in grasping the distinction between a label and the item itself only becomes clear after reading the Boondock volumes. Heinlein uses a variety of effective literary devices, including the continuity of Hazel Stone’s character, to convey this lesson over the course of three decades.
