The Children of Men

By P.D. James

Redemption in The Children of Men

Redemption is at the heart of The Children of Men. Theo, representing humanity as a whole, is searching for some form of redemption. Theo wants to be redeemed for several failures, his gravest sin being his daughter’s death. He does this by helping bring a child into the world, and protecting that child with everything he has. Determined, he decided he had “been responsible for the death of one child…That was enough.” (James 158). By helping the child survive, he had made amends for taking his child out of this world, but that did not redeem him for his lack of feeling toward his wife and child. His lack of love for his family was only redeemed by his love for both Julian and her child. Through his love and selflessness, Theo had made up for his failed marriage where he “cared less because [he] loved less,” and for thinking of his dead daughter predominately “with complaint” (28). Earlier in the story, Theo also gave up the opportunity to influence the Warden to make significant positive changes by stepping down from his role as advisor. When he stands in front of the committee to plead for the Five Fishes, he is reminded that he had the chance to improve the way the Council runs and that he threw it away. Theo finds redemption for this missed opportunity by killing Xan and taking his place. This redemption is more ambiguous, though, because Theo, like Rolf and Xan, justifies his ascent to power by telling himself that he needed to do what had to be done and that “[t]here would be time later to decide whether, and for how long, he needed [power],” (241). The steps he takes as he ascends to power, though, highlight how his emotional investment in the plight of humanity increases as he becomes more involved with the Five Fishes. This is another example of his path to redemption, since at the start of the novel Theo was reluctant to let an old friend live with him and even to help a hysterical woman piece together her broken child-substitute. Theo’s intervention in the Quietus and his subsequent increased compassion and sensitivity prompt him to step into leadership roles, such as in his mission to steal a car, and these leadership roles teach him that he can make a difference in the lives of people he is beginning to care about. In that sense, Theo’s rise to power, while worrying, is the culmination of his redemption from being initially an uncompassionate, unmotivated bystander to being a loving, self-sacrificing leader.