Blog Posting #7 Reactions to Whitechapel Gods (1-186)

In order to fully understand the steampunk genre, it is necessary to view it as a continuum in literature. In our examination of steam narratives, we have taken this very approach; beginning with the early Edisonades, and progressing into the reactionary texts of the steampunk literary movement. This continuum pertains to many motifs reflected in steam narratives. An especially important motif is man’s domination over technologies, specifically machines. This continuum begins with the Edisonade’s complete domination over all technologies where there is a clear distinction between controller and controlled. In the case of the steam man, this distinction is made especially obvious with the controlled technology of the steam man being a black humanoid, a direct reference to slavery. In the steampunk stories of the 1980s, there is a clear equality between created machines and man. This is reinforced by both by the communication tones between technologies and humans as well as the clear physical interaction among the two groups. Lastly, we arrive at contemporary, dystopian steampunk literature. Therein lies the most current style in the evolution of this literary form we call steampunk.

S.M. Peters’ novel, Whitechapel Gods, is a prime example of this dystopian steampunk style. No longer is man the controller, rather the complete opposite. Man is dominated and controlled by the quintessential machines, that of Grandfather Clock and Mama Engine, in every facet of life and physical/metaphysical manifestation. The fundamental anatomy of human existence is being phased out by the clacks and even a person’s mind, once thought to be the most impenetrable sanctuary, can be probed and bewitched. The architectural accomplishments of man are now buried, rotting in the ‘underbelly’ below the stack. The mere fact that human constructions, texts of our existence, are relegated to the underworld symbolically implies they are subservient, a capitulation by man of his reigning position on top.

This list of such extreme ‘punkish’ symbolisms extends far beyond what is presented here, but it is important to note that this form of novel is not born directly out of the twenty first century, rather a century-long culmination of the shift in the power dynamic between man and machine. In every sense of the work, this novel is the extreme form of steampunk, mirroring the extreme form of the Edisonades which can now be best interpreted as ‘steamignorance.’