Stranger in a Strange Land

Smith, the Man from Mars, is a stark combination of innocent child—he claims he’s “only an egg” (109)—and wise old soul. Although human, he is so indoctrinated in Martian culture—social organization, thought patterns, morality—that human customs are utterly unfamiliar to him. For Smith, death is merely a joyous discorporation in which the soul is freed from the body to join the Old Ones. Eating the body of the dead is a great honor. Smith does not understand the shock and revulsion he encounters when explaining these customs. In the character of Smith, Heinlein captures the wisdom of innocence, a wisdom untainted by cynicism, greed, and all the other human vices. In keeping with Heinlein’s emphasis on sexual liberation, the catalyst for Smith’s maturation is sex. Once he experiences intercourse—and he experiences it in totality (physical, spiritual, emotional)—his entire demeanor changes, and he is, almost overnight, ready to assert his independence and step out into the world. His experience with sex is not tainted by guilt or shame, and so he appreciates it for what is in essence a tremendous “goodness.”

Smith is a fast learner. He picks up on the language and the traditions of his surroundings (but without the value judgments).