Science Fiction: Zenna Henderson

In my first post, I mentioned a science fiction short story anthology by the name of "A Dreamer's Dozen." I mentioned its alarming rarity; when I went looking for a second copy, I could find one nowhere online. Fortunately, my local used book shop had it in stock.

The full title is of "A Dreamer's Dozen of Undiscovered Gems," and this describes it accurately. The twelve stories represented in it are rare, difficult to find and largely unknown. Each story has its own sort of charm and signature style. They are by turn comedic, touching, gripping, and provocative. One of the authors included here is someone I was shocked that I hadn't heard of before. Her name is Zenna Henderson, and her story in "Dreamer's Dozen" makes it clear that she's a writer of unusual skill and talent.

The story in "Dreamer's Dozen" which turned me onto Henderson was simply and oddly titled "Things." "Things" is about a tribe of nomadic aliens and the problems posed to them by first contact with human explorers who have landed on their planet. It is touching not so much because of the plot, but because of the characters; the non-human human angle, so to speak. In very few words she creates a rich culture and deeply sympathetic protagonists, and shows us our own culture in a new light.

After reading this, I had to do a little research on Zenna Henderson to find out why I'd never heard of her before. It turns out that she is little-known for a few reasons. For one, she wrote mainly short stories and was not primarily a novelist. Far more interesting, though, is that she dared to go where few people ventured at that time.

She wrote mainly from the 50s through the 70s, and one unique thing about her immediately struck me upon finding her in "A Dreamer's Dozen." She is the only obviously female pen name represented in the anthology. Even in the progressive genre of science fiction, sexism was rampant in the 50s and 60s; this is in fact quite clear in "Dreamer's Dozen," where several of the stories, despite their literary values, treat female characters in a ridiculously stereotyped manner. Even the women who were writing sci-fi in those days did not dare to make it known that they were female. Most adopted male-sounding or gender-ambiguous pen names. Zenna Henderson was one of very, very few who dared to be openly female while trying to establish credibility as a sci-fi author.

The other respect in which she was a pioneer is perhaps even more interesting. In the 50s and 60s, rationality and cold, hard science were considered essential elements of science fiction. The desire of sci-fi fans to bring the scientific culture of rationality and objectivity is understandable, even admirable. But in the process they shunned other parts of human nature. Using religion and spirituality in early science fiction was practically taboo. Advanced humans and aliens were supposed to be beyond all that, or at the very least not reliant on it. Henderson's work, on the other hand, is widely known for the depth and complexity of the characters' spirituality.

This aspect of her writing is readily apparent in "Things." One of the most interesting aspects of the aliens she describes is their spirituality. Their beliefs about the afterlife and the "Hidden Ones" are completely plausible, almost familiar, and completely touching in the way they connect the love of the living with the fate of the dead. This spirituality is indeed key to the story as the aliens struggle to understand the effect that the arrival of the earthmen is having on their tribe.

Such depth and complexity of spirituality is common in Henderson's works. She is best known for her short stories about "The People," human-like, psychic aliens whose spirituality is vital to their struggle to survive after crash-landing on a hostile Earth. Various religious groups, from evangelical Christians to Jews to Catholics to Wiccans have all expressed sympathy and a sense of identification with "The People" and the struggles they face reconciling their gifts and beliefs with a hostile human society.

Henderson herself must have been a remarkable person. She was a woman of faith herself, a devout Mormon, yet clearly she did not shrink from the speculative and questioning nature of science fiction. She wrote openly as a woman, despite strong sexist currents in both sci-fi and mainstream culture at that time. She delved into questions of spirituality and science at a time when spirituality was taboo. In general, she was remarkably insightful and paid no mind to the mainstream community when they told her she was wrong.

I thought I should spread the word about Zenna Henderson for the sake of all you sci-fi readers out there who may never have heard of her works. I recommend her particularly for aspiring sci-fi writers, because of the comprehensiveness of her work. One of the biggest challenges of writing science fiction is incorporating the technical scientific aspect with the subtle motivations of human characters. Henderson accomplishes this beautifully, making for an informative and captivating read.