The Gods Themselves
I think that the title of the book is important on several levels. Firstly, there is a dimension in which is fulfills the job of any good title: it sells books. Grandma Frannie in Florida doesn't read science fiction and she doesn't know Isaac Asimov from Kurt Cobain. However, as she totters around the SciFi section looking for a present for Joey, she sees the word "God", picks it up and sends it off.
The second purpose is to tie the inside and outside of the book together. The sections within the book are titled "Against Stupidity...", "...the Gods Themselves..." and "...Contend in Vain?" Although, taken together, they obviously have significance, they are easy to read over, because they appear only at the beginning of the sections and what the reader really wants to know is inside. By repeating the middle subtitle in the main title, Asimov, reiterates the importance of the message contained in the subtitle. The main title also emphasizes the importance of the middle section. Even though the para-beings only appear once in a three section book, they cannot be ignored, because they make a statement about the book as a whole.
Finally, I think that the title, and the book as a whole, communicates an atheistic message. There are no gods in this book. A god, at least in the general perception, are supposed to have some concern for the welfare of people. Omniscience and omnipotence are also common requirements (spelling is not). Therefore, since none of the characters in the universe or para-universe fit these requirements, none are gods. And, the absence of god is reaffirmed in the last section, when they reveal that the big bang was probably caused by pumping. And pumping, as we just said, is not done by gods.
The subtitles taken together reaffirm the atheistic message. A god would be omnipotent, and would therefore not need to contend in vain against anything. Because there are no omnipotent species, there are no gods. And the closest creatures there are to gods, the ones that seem to be gods, para-universe beings, are both far from godlike and contending in vain against stupidity. I hope my circular logic made sense.
posted by lennearb @ 2:05 AM
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