When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- Adam (prologue.321): in the Bible, the first man created by God
- Bible (prologue.265): passages quoted (3.229)
- Christ (1.138)
- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe (1.370)
- Homer (1.397)
- Immanuel Kant (1.397)
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (1.465-469): The phrase "Robots of the world!" echoes a famous paraphrase of Marx and Engels' pamphlet, "Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!"
- Satan (1.152)
- Socrates (prologue.69)
- Sodom (1.212): a sinful city, destroyed by God in the Bible
- Supermen (2.63): this refers to the philosophical idea of the Superman, or Übermensch, created by Friedrich Nietzsche. The superhero comic Superman was not created until 1938, 18 years after R.U.R. was published.
Historical References
- Genghis Khan (2.95)
- Marius (prologue.172): a Roman general
- Salvation Army (prologue.261): a Christian denominational church and charitable organization founded in 1865 (and still active)
- Sulla (prologue.172): a Roman general