Talk:Time Enough for Love

Inaccuracies
I removed the paragraph about the ending for two reasons. First I never saw it that way, he doesn't seem to die at the end of the book, so why write that he does? It might be a personal interpretation, maybe. Then, anyway, there are other novels featuring Lazarus Long, set after this one, so there's no need to read To Sail Beyond the Sunset to know that he's still alive. (Besides... I gotta know for sure, I'm him! ;-) ) Lazarus Long 21:59, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)

You are correct, of course. Lazarus Long does not die at the end of Time Enough For Love, or anywhere else for that matter. This means that there are at least three potential inaccuracies (two for sure, one is possibly true) on the back of the book. First, it states:

Lazarus Long 1916--4272

Inaccuracy #1: He was born in 1912, not 1916. He went back in time to 1916, so it is perhaps easy to understand why some stupid and overzealous editor would list a wrong date.

Inaccuracy #2: He did not die in the year 4272; this year is merely the date when the book begins. In fact, he goes back in time to the year 1916 from the year 4291, so obviously he lives beyond 4272. In a sense the book loops from 1916 to 4291, but 1916 and 4272 are emphatically not Lazarus Long's birth and death years, as is misleadingly implied by placing them directly under Lazarus Long's name on the back of the book.

[Potential] Inaccuracy #3: It states that Lazarus was "so in love with Time that he became his own ancestor." But as anyone who has read all of the works which contain the character of Lazarus Long knows, he never becomes his own ancestor in any of them. This does not mean that Heinlein did not intend this to be the explanation of why Lazarus managed to live so long, but the presence of two demonstrably false pieces of information on the back of the book leads me to believe that there could easily be a third. --Uroshnor 16:44, 3 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I agree completly with all 3. He did NOT become his ancestor. When he went back to Maureen the only times they had sex was when she was already pregnant. And I haven't read anything that showed him going back and getting Maureen's Mom pregnant (a preposterous idea since she said that sex was something to be put up with in order to have children). --Shonsu 18:13, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

Western Science Fiction
I have added The Tale of the Adopted Daughter chapter to the Western Science Fiction category. This may be set on a distant planet with some peripheral reference to spaceships and genetically-modified talking mules, but it is a classic frontier/western story, right down to the covered wagons, log cabins and squaredancing. --Surgeonsmate 18:58, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

The evolution of Heinlein's view of homosexuality
Didn't want to just go on and edit it as I've never done that so far. I wanted to point out the part that says it shows an evolution of his view of homosexuality through his writings. In Stranger In A Strange Land, there is a scene in which a male is invited to a menage a trois with another male and a female. The invited male recoils in disgust/fear/whatever you like, but no one else sees anything really wrong with participating in it. Not sure how this is interpreted or if its of any note, but this section of the article lists The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) as the beginning of the evolution depicting a negative light on homosexuality. Stranger In A Strange Land was published five years earlier, in 1961. Any feedback?Kristiki 06:03, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

I suggest you do not presume that behavior of a character he wrote about in a book dictates his opinion at the time about such acts in general. Read his discussion of homosexuality in "the number of the beast". Do recall that he wrote for a living and had to self-censor, especially in the early years to not damage his ability to make a living. Montestruc (talk) 04:47, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Outer Worlds vs Earth
I hardly see how this is relevant to the book really. The only "theme" is the evolution of the rest of the galaxy by removing the best from Earth. The Robot novels were set in the solar system, with a system of government, where Earth and the colonies each had a seat in the government (I don't remember exactly, whatever). The book is as much a Outer Worlds vs Earth novel as it is Tertius vs Secundus. The smart people just give up and leave the stupid behind. So in other worlds, I don't see the connection at all between Heinlein and Asimov, Outer Worlds vs Earth, and Europe vs America. Mobkey 13:50, 21 December 2006 (UTC)


 * It is more my opinion that the theme should be (as is present in many of Heinlein's books) that freedom is to be found, fairly exclusively, on the frontier. Secundus was founded as a way of getting away from an overcrowded, overbureaucratic Earth. Tertius was founded when Secundus went the same way.  Lazarus moves away from his bank and home when the town restricts freedom, threatening to nationalize his bank.  I think Earth v. The Galaxy is not the theme.  I suspect a rewrite is in order.--Wehwalt 15:05, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

Weasel Words, Original Research, and Opinion
The Plot Summary section regarding the Adopted Daughter story needs to be reworked.

In this story, Heinlein also seems to thumb his nose at contemporary writers, in the person of an incompetent, bankrupt, but self-important colonist who is forced to sell Lazarus the talking mule, but insists he used to be somebody, namely a teacher of Creative Writing. The obvious target would have been Kurt Vonnegut, whom many science fiction authors held in contempt, and who taught the class on several occasions.

"Seems to thumb his nose.."? Weasel words masking opinion.

More important is the phrase: "The obvious target.." If it's obvious, cite it with a Heinlein source, please! An interview, letter, or any recorded remark Heinlein made regarding Vonnegut would be appropriate. Without such a citation, then it's more opinion--and original research, besides--masquerading as relevant encylopedic fact.

Note: The citation currently in the article is not sufficient:

Vonnegut was also lampooned in "Inferno" by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, where he is consigned to Hell in a tomb in a vast empty hall, with a neon sign flashing "So it goes" over and over

Interesting, but probative? And relevant? Not quite.

edit: Section deleted. Thanks Wehwalt.

Heinlein liked a lot of Vonnegut's works, and read them. I think he was not lampooning Vonnegut, but innumerable pompus jackasses with PhDs who infest college campuses. Montestruc (talk) 04:52, 19 October 2015 (UTC)


 * pompous. but you are not wrong
 * 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:956C:1C35:22BF:46F1 (talk) 09:18, 24 May 2023 (UTC)

Oh By the way, read the Patterson biography of Heinlein, it goes into his reading of Vonnegut on detail. Montestruc (talk) 04:53, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Going to volume 2 of the Patterson Biography of Heinlein, Heinlein had listed Vonnegut's Player Piano as one of six of his favorite science fiction works. Montestruc (talk) 05:02, 19 October 2015 (UTC)

Recent addition of Music as a theme
Just questioning the addition of "Music" as a Major Theme. Wouldn't this fit more appropriately under a section addressing the structure or style of the work? Music is not necessarily a theme of the story, but it is used to format the novel. Jim Dunning | talk  19:37, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

Tend to agree. Worth a sentence explaining the musical terms which head some of the sections, but it is no more important than noting the two long stories, the musings of Lazarus, etc.--Wehwalt 19:48, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

I'm perfectly happy to have the Music material I'd added reinstated in some new "section addressing the structure or style of the work" as described above, or to leave it out; your call, folks. How important the musical aspects are to the novel is an interesting topic. I have long thought that Heinlein's adoption of the Variations on a Theme label for a great many of the chapters is exactly what helped the book to become so wayward; these chapters would have been equally good or bad without such a label, and indeed he never says what the "Theme" is (it can't be "Love" because that's one of the variation chapter titles). However, the use of "Da Capo" for the Kansas City 1916 chapters should be noted in the TEFL entry, even if the other musical terms are not, because an unwritten story by that name had appeared in the Future History chart's first few versions, and this section can be presumed to descend from his idea of what that story would have consisted of. [PS: I'd read the first-edition paperback in 1974 when I was in college, liked it then, loathed it in retrospect (except for the Notebooks chapters), and finally was paid to read it again as copyeditor of Meisha Merlin's aborted version of the Virginia Edition (see the Heinlein Bibliography entry). Also I have two music degrees, hence my impulse to mention the musical aspects in the TEFL entry.] Gottacook (talk) 07:34, 20 November 2007 (UTC)

Lots of opinions in this article...
...and few references. For example, I utterly fail to see how homosexuality is considered "defective" in "Moon". I remember that it is mentioned: The society on the moon has far fewer women than men; and the protagonist mentions that one result is that men turn to other men. The protagonist's opinion, however, is that most men want a real female. I don't think anybody would want to argue with this?

So: Bottom line... this article needs a lot of work. -- Nils Jeppe (talk) 01:57, 18 November 2007 (UTC)


 * I think the point is, that it marks a midpoint in the evolution of Heinlein's expressed view of homosexuality. He still doesn't accept it, it is still second best, but necessary.  The people who prefer homosexuality make no appearance in the book.  The "defective" comes from Stranger, and is discussed ad nauseum in various articles.--Wehwalt (talk) 21:25, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Uncited Themes and Connections material
Since the article has been flagged for possible original research for over a year for the Major Themes and Connections sections, and nothing's been done to improve the situation, I've relocated the material to this page for work. Jim Dunning | talk  15:47, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Major themes
Time Enough for Love explores a number of themes, all of which appear to have been important to Heinlein, as each of them is featured in many of his other novels and short stories.

Love
One of the central themes of the book is the importance of love in human life. In discussing love, Lazarus and the other characters develop the distinction between Agape (spiritual love) and eros (sexual love). Later in the novel, Lazarus credits his friends and family with reminding him of the importance of love, thereby restoring his will to live.

Incest
Incest and discussion of incest recurs throughout the novel, especially in The Tale of the Adopted Daughter, The Tale of the Twins Who Weren't and the bridging material that ties the various tales together.

Each of the 'incestuous' relationships described is in some way different from traditional incest and explores a different philosophical point of view. The "twins who weren't", for example, share no common genetic material, and their offspring have no greater chance of genetic defects than the offspring of two strangers. The pair are siblings, but had been told by authorities that they were to be a breeding pair. In their minds, there is no sin. Lazarus Long wrestles with the implications, and eventually decides the two should remain together.

Similarly, in "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter", Lazarus raises a girl from infancy. While Dora ages normally, Lazarus benefits from his greatly extended lifespan, and so she quickly catches up to his apparent age. The couple then become pioneers in the frontier, where they begin a sexual relationship, marry, and build a family. Again, Heinlein frames the situation to avoid the traditional problems with incest: similar physical age, no genetic relationship, Dora's initiation of the relationship, and the lack of a social stigma.

In the bridging material, two twins are created from Lazarus's genetic material, identical except that they are female. The children continually tease Lazarus sexually, but he resists their advances until he is informed by a computer that he has no unhealthy recessives that can recombine. At that point he begins a sexual relationship with them.

Finally, as noted earlier, while traveling back to 1916 Lazarus meets and falls in love with his own mother, and feels free of any guilt at having sex with her. Again, numerous justifications are used for this: Lazarus's lack of genetic flaws, his mother's pregnancy, her open marriage with Lazarus's father, his knowledge as a time traveler that there would be no lasting damage to her from the experience, and the fact that she did not realize that they were even related.

Another point of view presented in this and other Future History stories is that the social stigma attached to incestuous relationships is no longer necessary when deleterious genes can not accumulate in offspring. One example is how the relationship between Lazarus and Maureen only moves beyond smoldering looks when Maureen admits she is already pregnant by her husband, and therefore can not conceive. Another example is how Lazarus is quite willing to have children with his descendants, as genetic screening and gene surgery in the far future utterly removes the possibility of bad outcomes from inbreeding. It is, however, interesting that this is notably different from Lazarus's reactions to consanguineous relationships in Methuselah's Children, the novel in which he first appears, although it is apparently already the attitude of most of the younger members of the Howard Families.

---In this regard Heinlein also presages the debate to come after the current "designer babies" one is finished Shannock9 (talk) 15:38, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

AIs as family members
IIRC this is Heinlein's first book where a self aware computer is accepted as a member of a human family ("Moon" has one - Mike - as a main character and friend). In later sections the AI is transferred into a human clone, and we are to infer becomes part of the mating group. This peg is used for (at least) three Heinlein recurring themes: What does it mean to be Human?, What is responsible parenting?, and the Incest theme noted above. [I know this is original research - but I'm only a fan, not a critic. Perhaps when this section is sorted out my little contribution can be considered.] Shannock9 (talk) 15:38, 30 January 2011 (UTC)

Pioneer life
Pioneer life is heavily represented throughout the novel, as noted in the plot summary above. Lazarus is of the opinion that "when a society has grown to the point where it requires people to carry identification, it is time to move out." Heinlein himself deeply resented having to carry or supply identification. On his tour of the world with Virginia, recounted in "Tramp Royale" he went so far as to walk out of hotels which required him present identification, or surrender his passport, and try to find a more liberal place to stay. Since he paid with either cash or traveler's checks, he saw no reason for hotels to impose any other requirement on him (in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Heinlein describes the Earthside practice of requiring a traveler to show identification as "insolent").

Outer worlds vs. Earth
From several references in the book, it is clear that the Earth has deteriorated to an impoverished, diseased, overcrowded place which people in the outer worlds have no wish to even visit, and are grateful that their ancestors have abandoned it. Lazurus himself says a return to (his present-day) Earth would be "a time for tears."

Interestingly, this is very similar to the situation in the Robot Series and several other books of Isaac Asimov. However, in Asimov's books the situation is always viewed from the point of view of the Earth people, asserting themselves against the arrogance of the Outer Worlds, while Heinlein writes from the Outer Worlders' point of view. The difference might be attributed, at least in part, to Heinlein's being born to a family long established in the New World while Asimov was a member of an immigrant family to whom a miserable Eastern European society was still a fresh memory.

Failure of democracy
In the universe of this book, democracy and representative government are considered to be an experiment which was tried for a brief period in the distant past and proved to be unworkable due to the voting public's selfishness, stupidity, and short-sightedness.

A group called "equalitarians" still exists in this universe, and Ira Weatheral, the Chairman Pro Tem of the Howard Families (and thus ruler of the planet Secondus where much of the interludes take place) notes in conversation with Lazarus that this group were infiltrated at intervals, rounded up, and sentenced to involuntary transportation. They were not to be confused with members of an obscure and harmless religious sect called "The Church of the Holy Democrat".

It has been long and inconclusively debated whether this reflected Heinlein's own considered opinion on the future of democracy or was just an attempt to startle his readers with a provocative idea. Heinlein frequently used his writing as a means to express provocative ideas about politics and society, including military hegemony (where only veterans have the franchise - see Starship Troopers, armed societies - see Beyond This Horizon, and the restriction of the franchise to literate and numerate persons only (see Expanded Universe).

One of the examples in the book occurs in "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter". Lazarus sets up a bank to help a pioneer town to grow, carefully controlling the money supply so that prices remain stable. A democratic government forms and nationalizes the bank. Having seized the bank from Lazarus, they attempt to make demands about changes to the economy. Lazarus, however, simply replies that these questions are their problem now, not his, and doesn't even fight the takeover. The politicians know nothing of economics. Their agent, sent to oversee the government's 'nationalization' of the bank, is astonished to find, for example, that Long routinely burns the cash paid to the bank (on mortgages, for instance) as the paper itself is worthless in Lazarus's hands, but is an obligation that he must pay if it gets out of them. When the government realizes that they are totally unprepared to take charge of the economy, they attempt to draft Lazarus into running the bank as a civil servant. Lazarus refuses and shortly thereafter, after faking his own death, leaves town.

The government of Secundus itself, set up by Lazarus, is a 'constitutional tyranny. One in which the government was forbidden to do most things ... and the people, bless their black flabby little hearts, were given no voice at all.'

On the other hand, Weatheral notes of Lazuras:

Despite the way he sneered at them, the old scoundrel was an equalitarian at heart. . . and expressed it by attempting to dominate anyone with whom he came into contact—but was contemptuous of anyone who knuckled under to his bullying. So the only answer was to hit back at him, try to maintain a balance of power— and hope that in time it would reach the stability of mutual respect. Time enough for Love.

This two passages taken together seem to indicate that Heinlein, while recognizing the appeal of the basic ideas of democracy, wishes to denounce the sorts of persons who are allowed to seize power such governments due to the inadequacies of the voters.

Nudism
As in many of his other works, Heinlein's characters in Time Enough for Love engage in a practical sort of nudism, wearing clothing for decoration, comfort, and concealment of personal weapons, but not for modesty, and frequently are nude in domestic situations, as reflected in the Carl Lundgren cover of the 1979 edition. It's worth noting that nudism is the correct term, since Heinlein uses the term 'naturist' to refer to the sort of person who would currently be considered a radical environmentalist.

Connections to Heinlein's other work
This book is an outgrowth of the earlier Methuselah's Children and is connected to The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset, as well as several other Heinlein novels and stories in his Future History.

The book also marks the conclusion to the evolution of Heinlein's view of homosexuality. In The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (published only seven years before), homosexuals were seen as defectives, and homosexual sex a poor substitute. A more accepting view was put forth in I Will Fear No Evil, and in this book, it is seen as fully acceptable and almost indistinguishable from the heterosexual variety. (Gender reassignment, however, is still seen -- by Lazarus, at least -- as making "fake females" out of "inadequate males".)

Finally, most of the events are told in first person from the point of view of the protagonist, Lazarus Long. Many are retold, also first person, from the point of view of his mother, Maureen Johnson Long, in To Sail Beyond the Sunset, the last novel Heinlein wrote and published before he died in 1988. (According to Maureen in that book, Lazarus' account in Time Enough For Love of their 1916-7 meeting is incomplete and inaccurate in many respects.) This approach to storytelling can also be seen in the first two books of Orson Scott Card's The Tales of Alvin Maker series.

The book references many of the previous works of Heinlein either directly or obliquely.
 * There is much discussion of the events and characters of Methuselah's Children.
 * Lazarus refers several times to Andrew Jackson Libby, the gifted mathematician of Methuselah's Children and Misfit.
 * Lazarus mentions a blind accordion player who shows up at the Martian bordello Lazarus manages. This is Rhysling of The Green Hills of Earth.
 * Multiple references are made to the song "The Green Hills of Earth", with Lazarus unaware that he had known its composer.
 * The starship Vanguard, the sister ship to the New Frontiers, is mentioned as having been found lost in space. This is the ship from Orphans of the Sky.
 * Multiple references are made to the Harriman Foundation, founded by D. D. Harriman of "Requiem" and The Man Who Sold the Moon.
 * Lazarus makes reference to an experiment where a male brain was transplanted into a female body, which occurred in I Will Fear No Evil.
 * Actually, the book should be described as a sequel to Methuselah's Children, where the character of Lazarus Long was introduced. —75.4.242.162 (talk) 17:50, 2 June 2011 (UTC)

The survivors from Orphans of the Sky
I've a definite memory that the survivors from the Vanguard are not just savages, but also cannibles who kill and eat some of the civilised humans who contact them. And are apparently then left alone. Yet this seems bizarre, particularly since only the Muties on the Vanguard were cannibles, and all of the male survivors are from the Crew.

Is my memory correct? I didn't keep the book. --GwydionM (talk) 10:56, 27 January 2013 (UTC)


 * what are cannibles? 2A01:CB0C:CD:D800:956C:1C35:22BF:46F1 (talk) 09:20, 24 May 2023 (UTC)

Eugenics
I am surprised that in all the discussion, no mention has been made of the obvious theme of Eugenics in Time Enough for Love. The entire Howard program was based on the idea of positive eugenics - inducement to breed selectively in a form of directed evolution. The theme is now unpopular and generally discredited, but without it, the book has no framework. Ptilinopus (talk) 00:13, 11 August 2015 (UTC)