Literature offers insights into the rise of extremism | Letters

"Katharine Burdekin's Swastika Night was first published in 1937 and, like Sally Carson's Crooked Cross, discussed in Charlotte Higgins's article, was ahead of the curve in predicting the effects of 20th-century European fascism (A prophetic 1933 novel has found a surprising second life it holds lessons for us all, 18 October). The difference is that Burdekin (originally published under the pseudonym Murray Constantine) imagined a future world in which the Nazis have been in power for 700 years."

"What is most striking about Burdekin's novel is the way in which she locates the psychopathology of fascism in a form of toxic masculinity becoming increasingly familiar to contemporary readers. She anticipates, equally, the retreat of women to traditional gender roles in a vain attempt to assuage masculine pride. But where Burdekin offers hope is in her analysis of fascism as, ultimately, self-defeating."

"Charlotte Higgins points out how easy it is for extremism to take hold and concludes that The resonances with today are impossible to overlook. The similarly prescient Agatha Christie in Passenger to Frankfurt described a character's visit to listen to a speech by Hitler. After being initially impressed and enthusiastic, the character then realised that there was no substance in the speech. The words were meaningless but the delivery was charismatic and it was successfully promoted through the insidious cult of violence."

A dystopian novel imagines a world where the Nazis have ruled for 700 years, creating entrenched totalitarian structures and erased histories. The psychopathology of fascism is traced to toxic masculinity that enforces male pride and drives women back into traditional gender roles. Fascist regimes are shown to be self-defeating as young male soldiers engage in unprecedented self-harm and suicide. Contemporary parallels are drawn between these fictional depictions and real-world young men susceptible to rightwing gender ideologies. Charismatic, substance-free rhetoric is depicted as effective because it is promoted through organized cults of violence.

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