Jubal Harshaw
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Jubal Harshaw is a fictional character featured in several
novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
s by
Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein ( ; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific acc ...
, most prominently 1961's ''
Stranger in a Strange Land ''Stranger in a Strange Land'' is a 1961 science fiction novel by the American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and rais ...
''. He is described as: "Jubal E. Harshaw, LL.B., M.D., Sc.D., bon vivant,
gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...
, sybarite, popular author extraordinary, neo-pessimist
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, devout
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
, professional
clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...
, amateur subversive, and parasite by choice."


Character description

The character's name was chosen by Heinlein to have unusual overtones, like Jonathan Hoag. The character shares a surname with radio host Ruth Harshaw, a Denver radio host on whose program Heinlein frequently appeared, likely as a tribute.William H. Patterson Jr., ''Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue With His Century'', vol 2, p.70 The main character of the novel, Valentine Michael Smith, enshrines him (much to Harshaw's initial chagrin) as the
patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of the church he founds. Critics have also suggested that Harshaw is actually a stand-in for Heinlein himself, based on similarities in career choice and general disposition; though Harshaw is much older than Heinlein was at the time of writing. Harshaw even is described as planning a story based on an idea Heinlein passed on to
Theodore Sturgeon Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American author of primarily fantasy fiction, fantasy, science fiction, and Horror fiction, horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 ...
.Alexei Panshin, ''Heinlein in Dimension'', pp 98-103


Reception

Paul di Filippo called the character "the Heinlein mouthpiece in ''Stranger in a Strange Land''".
Alexei Panshin Alexei Panshin (August 14, 1940 – August 21, 2022) was an American writer and science fiction critic. He wrote several critical works and several novels, including the 1968 Nebula Award–winning novel ''Rite of Passage (Panshin), Rite of Pas ...
found Harshaw to be a poorly drawn character. "Jubal Harshaw, too, is lessened by his super powers doctor, lawyer, etc; his multiple training seems a gratuitous gift from Heinlein without reason or explanation. ... He is too pat". Reviewing the posthumous publication of the original ''Stranger'' text in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'',
Rudy Rucker Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known f ...
described Harshaw as "the first of a series of pompous libertarian windbags whose oral methane makes all of Heinlein’s later tomes into rapidly emptying locker rooms". Literary critic Dan Schneider wrote of Heinlein's ''Stranger In A Strange Land'' that Harshaw was "a sybaritic fop and guru dilettante" and that Jubal "could also be seen as the stranger of the title" for being "a devout and fierce individualist in a world filled with cults and bureaucracies". Jubal's belief in his own
free will Free will is generally understood as the capacity or ability of people to (a) choice, choose between different possible courses of Action (philosophy), action, (b) exercise control over their actions in a way that is necessary for moral respon ...
, was one "which Mike, Jill, and the Fosterites misinterpret as a pandeistic urge, ' Thou art God! Dan Schneider
''Review of Stranger In A Strange Land (The Uncut Version), by Robert A. Heinlein''
(7/29/05).
A 2011 ''Medium'' review evaluates Harshaw negatively, labeling him "Heinlein’s crude wish-fulfillment stand-in for himself" and "a pedant" for whom: "There’s nothing another character can say to him that won’t produce a lecture in reply, and even the faintly interesting ones tend to slide back into tired sexist stereotypes by the time he’s done." A more positive take came from literature professor Diane Parkin-Speer, who described Harshaw in ''Stranger in a Strange Land'' as "the typical Heinlein father figure: crusty, knowledgeable, iconoclastic, unorthodox, talkative", but goes on to opine that though he "runs his household in a patriarchal way", it is "a gentle patriarchal way that encourages individual choice and development".Diane Parkin-Speer, "Almost a Feminist: Robert A. Heinlein", ''Extrapolation'', volume 36, issue 2, 1995. When Heinlein's editor required him to make substantial cuts in the original ''Stranger'' manuscript, the bulk of the material cut was said to be lengthy monologues by Harshaw."Grok and the World Groks With You", Rudy Rucker, Los Angeles Times, December 23, 1990.


Other fictional appearances

Harshaw also appears in three later Heinlein novels: * '' The Number of the Beast'' (
1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...
) * ''
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls ''The Cat Who Walks Through Walls'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters. Plot summary A write ...
'' (
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...
) * ''
To Sail Beyond the Sunset ''To Sail Beyond the Sunset'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1987. It was the last novel published before his death in 1988. The title is taken from the poem " Ulysses", by Alfred Tennyson. The sta ...
'' (
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
)


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harshaw, Jubal Characters in written science fiction Fictional writers Literary characters introduced in 1961 Robert A. Heinlein characters