Small World- Part One

While the prologue in the beginning of Small World serves to demonstrate everything that a good conference should embody, it also serves to inform the reader of all the things that Persse's conference will not have. When the list is examined, it really becomes clear that this is a utopian view of the modern English conference. It is really quite absurd to expect that every conference is filled with captivating speakers, exquisite meals and cocktail hours, and perfect weather. I find this to be both a reference to and a commentary on medieval chivalry. The prologue references chivalry in the form that Chretien viewed it. While it seems as if it is a great and profound institution, in reality it is completely defunct. Just as Persse's real life conference lacked all the luster of the "ideal conference", chivalry lacked the charitable and good nature that it was alleged to have.

I also see the prologue as a commentary on the absurdity of the idealized chivalry. It is quite foolish to believe that men who traverse the length and breadth of England seeking fights are charitable, respectful, and good. Lodge parallels this by suggesting that conferences can be all the things that he outlines, and then at the end of the prologue he foreshadows the truth.