# Anarchy — Moribund Society and Anarchy character guide > Anarchy in Moribund Society and Anarchy by Jean Grave. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Its, its, it, itself **First appearance:** 0001-moribund-society-and-anarchy ## Snapshot Not a riot but a negation of authority that keeps widening its scope, from a political refusal into a full attack on property, family, and law. ## Who they are Anarchy begins as a simple political negation and grows into a total critique, forced to attack every institution that power defends in order to justify itself. Its central tension is the alleged quarrel with Communism: critics claim organization kills individuality, while the book argues individuality cannot develop except in community. Following this idea through Rabelais's Abbey of Thélème and the forgotten radicals of 1793, the reader watches a slogan become a program. ## Relationships ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _psychological_ The Unknown Narrator seems obsessed with analyzing and defining Anarchy, creating a dynamic of intellectual pursuit and ideological fixation. ### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_workman) _friendship_ Anarchy and The Workman share a close alliance, with The Workman embodying the practical, labor-driven side of the anarchist movement. ### [Their Masters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/their_masters) _rivalry_ Anarchy stands in direct opposition to Their Masters, representing a fundamental conflict between freedom and authority. ### [The Anarchists](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_anarchists) _friendship_ Anarchy is the ideological core and guiding force for The Anarchists, who follow and propagate its principles. ### [Dr. Manouvrier](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/dr_manouvrier) _professional_ Dr. Manouvrier appears as a scientific authority whose work is referenced in relation to Anarchy, likely in a criminological or sociological context. ### [M. G. Ville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/m_g_ville) _professional_ M. G. Ville is likely a contemporary writer or critic whose ideas are debated or cited in relation to Anarchy. ### [Proudhon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/proudhon) _friendship_ Proudhon is a foundational philosophical influence on Anarchy, with his ideas being a key reference point. ### [C. Lombroso](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/c_lombroso) _professional_ C. Lombroso's criminological theories are likely used to pathologize or analyze Anarchy and its adherents. ### [Jean Grave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/jean_grave) _friendship_ Jean Grave is a fellow anarchist thinker and activist, aligned with Anarchy in ideology and purpose. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _psychological_ The Unknown Narrator seems obsessed with analyzing and defining Anarchy, creating a dynamic of intellectual pursuit and ideological fixation. ### [Unknown Narrator](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/unknown_narrator) _psychological_ The Unknown Narrator seems obsessed with analyzing and defining Anarchy, creating a dynamic of intellectual pursuit and ideological fixation. ### [The Workman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/the_workman) _friendship_ Anarchy and The Workman share a close alliance, with The Workman embodying the practical, labor-driven side of the anarchist movement. ## In the story ### [Moribund Society and Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/moribund-society-and-anarchy) Anarchy is presented as the ideal alternative to the moribund society. ### [I: The Anarchistic Idea and Its Development](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/i-the-anarchistic-idea-and-its-development) Anarchy is personified as having victims—dead, imprisoned, exiled—but remaining alive and strong, with propagandists constantly increasing. ### [II: Individualism and Solidarity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/ii-individualism-and-solidarity) Referenced as the ideal society where solidarity and individual freedom coexist without oppression. ### [III: Too Abstract](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/iii-too-abstract) Anarchy is presented as the set of principles that deny providential men, war on authority, and demand conscious individual initiative. ### [VI: The Family](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/vi-the-family) Anarchy is implicitly invoked as the principle underlying the critique of legal family structures and the call for free unions. ### [XI: “The Country”](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xi-the-country) Mentioned in the context of not prescribing conduct for Anarchists in war, but treating the question logically. ### [XII: The Patriotism of the Governing Classes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xii-the-patriotism-of-the-governing-classes) Mentioned in the context of capitalists declaiming against 'frightful Anarchists' who expose class antagonism. ### [XVII: As to What Means Follow from the Principles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xvii-as-to-what-means-follow-from-the-principles) Personified as the ideal to be achieved; the chapter discusses how certain means (e.g., theft, electoral politics) are contrary to Anarchy's principles. ### [Revolution and Anarchy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xviii-revolution-and-anarchy) Personified as the ideal to be achieved; the chapter discusses how Anarchist action will be more effective in revolution if the ideas of Anarchy are widely understood. ### [XX: The Experimental Method](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xx-the-experimental-method) Presented as the ideal society that is possible if individuals choose to live freely, and as the goal of the anarchist method. ### [XXIII: The Unvarnished Truth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/chapters/xxiii-the-unvarnished-truth) Portrayed as having nothing to promise, ask, or give, in contrast to political parties. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters/anarchy - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/moribund_society_and_anarchy_se/characters