Homeworlder

Homeworlder is a play by Marie-Claire Matchnibi about someone from the Homeworld who has returned to Nideon to see what has transpired since the last visit.

Plot

The play opens on Mataika, an Elvish woman living in Dekani. She longs to be a chef, but is struggling to find a job because none of the local restaurants want to hire women. While out one day, she meets Emilee, a stranger in town, who is bring treated poorly by the locals. Mataika invites Emilee home with her and serves her a hot meal.

Emilee reveals that she is from Beketer, where all the people of Nideon once originated. She tells Mataika that long ago, the people of Beketer were a diverse group that lived in harmony with one another. But a mysterious illness spread through the land, and many of their people--Sprites, Elves, Mermish, were dying out or being born without their gifts. So they found a new world they thought might support these gifts and volunteers descended from people of these species. These volunteers settled Nideon as part of a Great Experiment to see if they could revive their people.

At first, Mataika doesn't believe Emilee, but decides to play along. She asks Emilee if she has returned to see the results of her experiment, but Emilee tells her they already knew the experiment had been successful. Life on Nideon is clearly flourishing, and Beketer has kept itself a secret because if anyone from Nideon returns to the homeworld, they might befall the same illness from long ago. Only, now, Beketer is desperate. The people of Beketer are under attack, and Emilee is searching for warriors who might be willing to return and fight.

As Emilee sees more and more of Mataika's life, she marvels at how beautiful Nideon is and is pleased that so many were able to thrive, like Mataika herself. But Mataika continues to counter by telling Emilee of the many problems on Nideon. As the play ends, Emilee is ready to give up her search because she does not want to risk anyone from Nideon facing the sickness that plagued Beketer. But Mataika not only offers to go, but finds Emilee several other women who agree that fighting a war on an unknown planet is better than the lives they lead in Dekani.

Historical Significance

Homeworlder was intended as a commentary about the state of gender politics in Dekani. It was significant that the women in the story were never given proof as to the existance of the Homeworld, nor were any of them certain it existed, but all were willing to defend this possibly imaginary world because they couldn't imagine a worse place to live than their own country. Also notable was that the play was not only written by a woman, but starred two female actors, which was unheard of at the time.

Though many women flocked to see the play, and some reviewers did discuss the question of gender and the commentary the play made, these discussions were soon overshadowed by another one: the use of the Homeworld. Homeworlder was the first main-stream piece of entertainment that presented the idea of the Homeworld in a serious light. There had been some literature written by Astromythologists, which had largely been ignored by the public, and the ocassional appearance of an astromythologist in popular works, but these characters were always presented as comic relief. After one particular review ruminated on whether or not the playwright herself was an astroymythologist, Matchnibi wrote a scathing letter to the editor explaining that they had missed the point entirely.

The quesiton of the Homeworld's existence is entirely beside the point. Whatever Emilee's motivations, whatever place she came from, it cannot be so dreadful as the one we live in. It seems your reviewers are the ultimate proof of that.

— Marie-Claire Matchnibi

CW: pandemic, war (mentions)

by Marjorie Ariel

Type

Entertainment, Show

Medium

Paper

Myth

Homeworld

Authors

• Marie-Claire Matchnibi

First Performance

1661

First Performed by

Sharise Atat
Ariana Eriksen

Unintended Prophecy

Homeworlder saw in influx of popularity during the The Rift of 1920, as present-day events were oddly reminiscent of the illness Emilee describes affecting the Homeworld. Some astromythologists believed that Matchnibi had been exactly correct about the Homeworld, and now Nideon was facing the same illness, while a smaller group of conspiracy theorists thought Matchnibi had forseen the rift, and that her play was actually set in Nideon's far-flung future. By the end of the decade, however, the rift had ended, and most people now believe it to be only a strange coincidence.

Despite Matchnibi's fury, her play soon spread to curious audiences in other towns and other countries, and contributed to the study of astromythology being taken more seriously. Homeworlders who once lived in relative secrecy now felt they were able to discuss their ideas more openly, leading to an increased study in astronomy and the production of telescopes. And while the play is still cited by students of literature studying feminist critique, its use of the Homeworld fed and continues to feed the vibrant and growing astromythological community.