Flatland, Section 13 summary
Section 13 of 22 · Part 2: Other Worlds “O brave new worlds, that have such people in them!” · 7 min to read the section
In Section 13, the narrator dreams of Lineland, where a king explains a world whose inhabitants can move and see only along one line. Their conversation exposes conflicting assumptions about space, sex, and marriage, as the king describes distant partners joining through musical harmony and treats unfamiliar possibilities as absurd.
What happens
- After studying Geometry late at night, the narrator dreams of small lines and points moving and chirping along a single line.
- A figure he mistakes for a woman identifies himself as Lineland’s Monarch and answers persistent questions about his kingdom.
- The narrator learns that Linelanders see only points, cannot pass one another, and regard their line as all space.
- Asked about his family, the King explains that marriage and reproduction depend on sound rather than physical closeness.
- The King describes two wives for each man, weekly musical courtship, and three births whenever a marriage occurs.
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In this section
Quick check
Why can no Linelander pass another?
Cite this page
“Flatland, Section 13 summary.” Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/pages/flatland-section-13-summary.
Library of Alexandria. (2026). Flatland, Section 13 summary. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/flatland-section-13-summary
“Flatland, Section 13 summary.” Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/flatland-section-13-summary.
@misc{flatland_section_13_summary_2026,
title = {Flatland, Section 13 summary},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/pages/flatland-section-13-summary}
}
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