Bill Cipher: His Past Revealed

The woman of flatland, aka not even in that barrel

There is a lot to digest with the woman within Flatland. Misogyny has affected this book greatly. It was written in 1884 by a man in Europe when misogyny was much more common back then. Because of this, misogyny naturally affects the book. Every woman in Flatland is a straight line. Not a single shape is female. Shapes in Flatland are against women because of their lack of intelligence (as they don't teach them in schools), but it's because men fear women.

Here is what women would look like

When I discussed a bit about the homes in Flatland, I mentioned the dangers of sharp corners within shapes in Flatland. Inhabitants can only see straight lines, so running into a triangle or a square can cause harm to another shape if they accidentally run into those sharp corners. Now imagine the women who are straight lines and their points.

"The dangers to which we are exposed from our Women must now be manifest to the meanest capacity in Spaceland. If even the angle of a respectable Triangle in the middle class is not without its dangers (That's Bil!); if to run against a Working Man involves a gash; if collision with an officer of the military class necessitates a serious wound; if a mere touch from the vertex of a Private Soldier brings with it danger of death; - what can it be to run against a Woman, except absolute and immediate destruction? And when a Woman is invisible, or visible only as a dim sub-lustrous point, how difficult must it be, even for the most cautious, always to avoid collision!" (A-Square).

Women are feared in Flatland by men. They could be extremely dangerous with their sharp points. A Square notes another reason why women can be so dangerous. Women can turn invisible. Since they are a straight line, they are already extremely thin and small to the Flatland eye. Women can turn sideways and become invisible to the eye. So if running into a woman causes a horrible death, if she turned sideways you wouldn't be able to see her and disaster can happen. The shapes of Flatland get around this major issue with strict rules. There are three in particular that are most important.

1. Every house shall have one entrance on the Eastern side, for the use of Females only; by which all females shall enter "in a becoming and respectful manner" and not by the Men's or Western door.
2. No Female shall walk in any public place without continually keeping up her Peace-cry, under penalty of death.
3. Any Female, duly certified to be suffering from fits, chronic cold accompanied by violent sneezing, or any disease necessitating involuntary motions, shall be instantly destroyed.

Remember how I showed Flatland homes earlier? Here's your explanation as to why there are two separate doors. Sleeping quarters are also separated by gender. Rule one is something I believe you can comprehend. The second rule will need some explanation. What exactly is this 'peace cry?' Anywhere a woman goes, she must continuously hum to inform others that she is there. It's like a buzzing sound. There are no expectations for this. Sounds like a sucky thing doesn't it? Oh, and by the way, there are even more laws for women.

"In some of the States there is an additional Law forbidding Females, under penalty of death, from walking or standing in any public place without moving their backs constantly from right to left so as to indicate their presence to those behind them; others oblige a Woman, when traveling, to be followed by one of her sons, or servants, or by her husband; others confine Women altogether to their houses except during the religious festivals" (A square).

Yeah. It's really, really sucky. Not only do women have to constantly hum and make noise, but they have to move in a certain way as well. If they don't, they risk execution. But just in general, women aren't treated well by men.

"For as they have no pretensions to an angle, being inferior in this respect to the very lowest of the Isosceles, they are consequently wholly devoid of brain-power, and have neither reflection, judgment nor forethought, and hardly any memory. Hence, in their fits of fury, they remember no claims and recognize no distinctions" (A square).

Women in Flatland are incredibly moody. With high-pitched piercing voices. The women are never taught in schools to gain any of the skills listed in that quote. The reason they aren't taught is that the higher classes and probably most men don't want to have to learn another way to talk. That being, 'how to talk to a woman.' That's the explanation A-Square gave.

I think you're starting to get the idea here. It's hard to say who gets it worse between irregulars and women. They definitely get it the worst out of all other types of shapes though.

Lets review:

1. Bill is from the 2nd dimension, a world filled with different kinds of shapes and lines known as Flatland.
2. Bill as an equilateral triangle is part of one of the lowest classes in society and is thus mistreated. Flatland has a social hierarchy that has triangles at the bottom, squares next, then pentagons, etc. Circles are at the top of society. At the very bottom (not considered part of society) are irregular triangles and irregular shapes, and the women who are straight lines.