What is Flatland?
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 novella by Edwin A. Abbott that blends satire, geometry, and speculative thought in our main character, A square's memior. Set in a two-dimensional world where geometric figures live under rigid social hierarchies.
In Flatland, social class is determined by the number of a shape's sides: Circles, the priestly elite, sit at the top, while irregular polygons are ostracized, and women—represented as thin, dangerous lines—are subjugated by law. It is a world that discourages innovation, enforces conformity, and punishes curiosity.
One night, A Square has a strange dream about a one-dimensional world called Lineland. There, he tries to explain the concept of a second dimension to its king, who finds the idea impossible and reacts with anger. This dream is merely a precursor to the real revelation: a visit from a mysterious stranger—a Sphere—from the third dimension.
At first, A Square cannot comprehend the Sphere’s nature. He tries to understand the Sphere as merely a circle that changes size, failing to grasp the reality of height. Only when the Sphere forcibly pulls him out of Flatland and into Spaceland does A Square truly perceive the concept of depth—a third direction previously unimaginable to him.
A Square is overwhelmed with awe and wonder. Yet his fascination doesn’t end there. He begins to theorize: If there is a third dimension, could there not also be a fourth?
This line of questioning offends the Sphere. Rather than entertain the possibility of a fourth dimension, the Sphere grows impatient and frustrated. A Square’s curiosity is too dangerous. In a sudden and cruel decision, the Sphere casts him back down into Flatland.
Back in two-dimension, A Square tries to share what he has seen, preaching the gospel of the third dimension and of higher realms beyond. But instead, His words are met with hostility, disbelief, and eventually, imprisonment.
The novella ends with A Square locked away in jail, writing his story in the hopes that someday—somewhere—someone might understand. His tale is a plea for open-mindedness, for the courage to challenge authority, and for the relentless pursuit of truth, even when that truth lies outside our dimension.