Chrysalids: Relationship between David and Rosalyn and the larger question of what is Human.

    The genetic pool that the village of Waknuk is very small, and mutations spread through generations very fast. David and Rosalyn are half cousin, and therefore they both have a similar mutations. Their relationship is formed on the basis of the fact that they can both send the thought shapes. At an early age, Uncle Axel tells them to try to make it less noticeable. This means that in the time that they are in Waknuk, their relationship is subdued since they don't want people to see them together, otherwise they can piece together the oddness about them. They are almost forced to be together, given that their pool of available people is very small, and they were the first to contact each other. They can't be with anybody else, because it would be like married to a mute of deaf person. The relationship between David and Rosalyn is similar to the early Mormon beliefs. The beliefs in purity and incest greatly resemble very old fashion bible/ Mormon beliefs. This would be most likely because the two only manuscripts remaining were the Bible and Nicholson's repentances. There is a part in the book where Uncle Axel says that there are different tribes where there are different mutations that they follow. They all believe that their mutation is what the old people looked like. In the modern view, David and Rosalyn's relationship would be highly controversial.
        That begs the questions of what really makes you human. Materialistic and physical appearance is just one of the many aspects that makes you human. If you don't have a finger, or leg, or toe, you are still human. Many unique evolutionary steps of Homo Sapiens is crying, laughing, and the ability to communicate in unique language. The problem with these is that there are other animals who can do the same thing. Dolphins, for instance, can talk and laugh, but not cry. Elephants can experience depression after a loved one dies. There seems to be nothing really unique that makes us distinctly human, because all of these can be replicable, taken away, or not developed, like language. DNA may be the key to understanding what is human, but that is simply a blueprint that our body follows. In conclusion, we make what makes us human though our actions.