The Shrinking Man
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''The Shrinking Man'' is a
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
novel by American writer
Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science ficti ...
, published in 1956. It has been adapted into a motion picture twice, called ''
The Incredible Shrinking Man ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' is a 1957 American science fiction film directed by Jack Arnold (director), Jack Arnold, based on Richard Matheson's 1956 novel, ''The Shrinking Man''. The film stars Grant Williams (actor), Grant Williams as Sc ...
'' in 1957 and '' The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' in 1981, both by
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
. The novel was retitled ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' in some later editions. In 2012 it was included (under the original title) in the
Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published more than 300 volumes by authors ...
two-volume boxed set ''American Science Fiction: Nine Classic Novels of the 1950s'', edited by Gary K. Wolfe.


Plot summary

While on holiday, Scott Carey is exposed to a cloud of radioactive spray shortly after he accidentally ingests insecticide. The radioactivity acts as a catalyst for the bug spray, causing his body to shrink at a rate of approximately per day. A few weeks later, Carey can no longer deny the truth: not only is he losing weight, he is also shorter than he was and deduces, to his dismay, that his body will continue to shrink. The abnormal size decrease of his body initially brings teases and taunting from local youths, then causes friction in his marriage and family life, because he loses the respect his family has for him because of his diminishing physical stature. Ultimately, as the shrinking continues, it begins to threaten Carey's life as well; at tall, he is driven outdoors, where he is attacked by a sparrow in his garden; the conflict drives him through a window into the cellar of his house. He has to survive on tiny scraps of food and bits of water. At one point he has to try and jump to reach a hanging spar of wood away—a leap whose distance seems over away to him. A cat goes after him when he is about tall. He is forced to engage in a victorious battle with a
black widow spider ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However ...
that towers over him, which Carey ultimately kills. As Carey continues shrinking, he realizes that his original fear that he would shrink into non-existence is incorrect; that he will continue to shrink, but will not disappear as he originally feared, his epiphanic thought being, "If nature existed on endless levels, so also might intelligence."


Structure

The story is told in a fractured timeline style, beginning with Carey's exposure to radiation and then shifting between his minuscule form trapped in the cellar of his home and looking for food while battling the spider; and the time and events leading up to his finding himself there. The novel is arranged in 17 chapters, with occasional segments documenting Carey's shrinking, using subheads describing height: ''68"'', ''64"'', etc., ultimately leading to ''7"'' in Chapter 15, wherein the entrapment in the cellar is finally described.


Inspiration

Author Richard Matheson says he was initially inspired to write the story from a scene in the comedy film '' Let's Do It Again.'' "I had gotten the idea several years earlier while attending a movie in a Redondo Beach theater. In this particular scene,
Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...
, leaving
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...
's apartment in a huff, accidentally put on
Aldo Ray Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Pictures before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind, P ...
's hat, which sank down around his ears. Something in me asked, 'What would happen if a man put on a hat which he knew was his and the same thing happened?' Thus the notion came."


Analysis

The novel raises questions of what it means to be a man in 1950s white middle class suburban America, and the fears associated with not acting like a man, as imagined through the fantastical idea of slowly shrinking in height. As Scott Carey shrinks, he experiences estrangement with his own body, and in his relationships with people around him. Mark Jancovich. ''Rational fears: American horror in the 1950s'', Manchester University Press ND, 1996. Pg. 158-63 As he shrinks in size he loses confidence in his masculinity and becomes intimidated by his wife, child, and even pet cat. His place as head of the house ebbs away until he is banished to the basement, unable to go to work. Normal objects appear alien and threatening, such as the oil burner that causes him pain from the sound, or the spider which chases him. As Jancovich says: Carey's notion of masculinity is based on his notion of man's superiority over women, and he fears losing his privileges along with his height. He sees himself becoming something other, a child or feminine, such as in the scene with the child molester in the car, or beaten-up by the local roughs. He compensates by lusting after the adolescent baby sitter, but this backfires when he is caught and shamed, leading to a deeper blow to his ego. He fears becoming an object of desire by others, such as in his fears of becoming a media spectacle. "He fears losing his superiority and significance as a man, and becoming subordinate to others' power and authority." The novel turns on his ability to overcome these fears, characterized by attempting to find food, kill the spider and escape the basement, and in the process achieve a new normality beyond his former strait-jacketed white middle class suburban role as family man.


Reception

Dave Pringle reviewing ''The Incredible Shrinking Man'' for '' Imagine'' magazine, stated, "Enjoy the believable domestic details which follow as the protagonist finds he is no longer a man to his wife and ends up as a scurrying insect beneath her feet. It is like Kafka transposed to an ''Ideal Home'' selling."


See also

* 1956 in science fiction * '' He Who Shrank''


Reviews

*Review by The Editor (1956) in ''
The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Bouche ...
'', September 1956 *Review by P. Schuyler Miller (1956) in ''
Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...
'', November 1956 *Review by Damon Knight (1956) in '' Future Science Fiction'', #31, Winter 1956-1957 *Review by Villiers Gerson (1957) in ''
Fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...
'', February 1957 *Review by P. Schuyler Miller (1970) in '' Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact'', August 1970 *Review by Peter Brigg (1979) in ''Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Review'', November 1979 *Review ermanby uncredited (1982) in ''Reclams Science Fiction Führer'' *Review by David Pringle (1988) in '' Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels'' *Review by Nicholas Mahoney (1989) in ''Paperback Inferno'', #78 *Review renchby Christo Datso (1999) in ''Galaxies'', #14 *Review by Chris Hill (2001) in ''
Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...
'' 217 *Review by uncredited (2003) in ''
Vector Vector most often refers to: * Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction * Disease vector, an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism Vector may also refer to: Mathematics a ...
'' 229 *Review by Darrell Bain (2005) in ''My 100 Most Readable (and Re-Readable) Science Fiction Novels'' *Review by Charles Dee Mitchell (2014) in ''Big Sky, #3: SF Masterworks 1'' *Review by J. P. Lantern (2014) in ''Big Sky, #3: SF Masterworks 1'' *Review renchby Bruno Para (2017) in '' Bifrost'', #86


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrinking Man 1956 American novels 1956 science fiction novels 1956 fantasy novels American science fiction novels American fantasy novels Science fantasy novels Novels set on Long Island Novels about spiders Fiction about size change American novels adapted into films Science fiction novels adapted into films Fantasy novels adapted into films Novels by Richard Matheson Novels republished in the Library of America Gold Medal Books books