The Man in the Maze (novel)
A novel about psychic alienation and disability allegory.
Robert Silverberg’s *The Man in the Maze* first appeared as a two-part serial in *Worlds of If* during April and May of 1968, then came out as a novel the next year. The story follows a man whose uncontrollable psychic abilities make normal human contact impossible. Silverberg based the plot on Sophocles’ *Philoctetes*, mapping the ancient characters onto his own: Boardman stands in for Odysseus, Rawlins for Neoptolemus, and Muller for Philoctetes.
The novel explores isolation and social alienation, using psychic powers as a metaphor for how people relate to one another. In 1968, the same year the serial ran, the United States passed the Architectural Barriers Act, requiring public buildings to be accessible to people with disabilities. The novel was published in book form in 1969. In a typical New Wave reversal, the story presents a disabled man who uses an alien labyrinth to shut out an able-bodied society. Silverberg updated the ancient ideas about disability found in *Philoctetes* to engage with modern debates, projecting them into a utopian future where disability had supposedly been eliminated. He emphasized how “process, ability and disability come to construct and problematize both individual and collective human identity for the past, present, and future.” He used similar techniques in his novel *Dying Inside*.
**Plot summary**
The story is set in the future. Richard Muller, a retired diplomat, is forced to hide from humanity on the uninhabited planet Lemnos. He lives at the center of an ancient city-maze built by a vanished race; the outer parts are filled with lethal traps to keep people out.
Earlier in his life, Muller served humanity honestly, traveling to hundreds of worlds and facing danger. The career diplomat Charles Boardman asked him to make contact with the only intelligent alien race yet discovered, on the planet Beta Hydri IV. After spending five months there without establishing meaningful communication, Muller returned to find that other humans could not stand to be near him. He emitted an unbearable mental repulsion field that exposed his inner emotions so fully that proximity became painful. Earth’s science could not understand or trace the source of these emanations, so Muller went into voluntary exile.
Nine years later, Boardman invades Muller’s isolation. He uses robot drones and human volunteers—many of whom die—to penetrat
- author
- Robert Silverberg
- published_serial
- 1968
- published_novel
- 1969
- genre
- Science fiction
- inspiration
- Sophocles' Philoctetes
- themes
- Isolation, social alienation, disability
Lore & Background
The action takes place in the future. The main character is Richard Muller, a retired diplomat, who finds himself forced to hide from the human race on the uninhabited planet of Lemnos. He lives there in the center of an ancient city-maze, built by a vanished race. The outer zones of the maze are filled with lethal traps to discourage entrance into the central zone. In his earlier life he had honestly served humanity, traveled to hundreds of worlds, endured hardship and danger. The career diplomat Charles Boardman invited him to make contact with the inhabitants of the planet Beta Hydri IV—the only intelligent alien race thus far discovered in the galaxy. When Muller returned after spending five months on Hydra without seeming to establish any meaningful communication with the natives at all, he discovered that other human beings could not bear to be close to him as he emanated an intolerable mental repulsion field. His own inner emotions were so fully exposed to anyone near him that they were intolerably painful. Earth science could not understand or trace the origin of these emanations from Muller's brain and he went into voluntary exile.
Reader's Guide
The novel deals with themes of isolation and social alienation, using psychic powers as an allegory for human interaction. In 1968, the United States adopted the Architectural Barriers Act, which mandated that public buildings be accessible to people with disabilities. In the same year, Silverberg published The Man in the Maze, in serial form, with it being novelized in 1969. In a typical literary reversal of the New Wave, in the story, a disabled man uses an alien labyrinthine city to reject abled society. Silverberg reframed the ancient notions of disability discussed in Philoctetes in order to highlight contemporary debates of disability and project them into a utopian future that had apparently eliminated the notion. In doing so Silverberg stressed how 'process, ability and disability come to construct and problematize both individual and collective human identity for the past, present, and future'. Silverberg employed similar techniques in Dying Inside.
Did You Know?
- The novel was originally serialized in Worlds of If in April and May 1968.
- It is inspired by Sophocles' play Philoctetes.
- The main character, Richard Muller, lives on the planet Lemnos in an alien maze.
- The novel was published in bookstores in 1969.
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