Canadianness and eugenic ideals in Grant Allen’s ‘The Child of the Phalanstery’

This article explores the intersections of Canadianness, utopianism and eugenics in Grant Allen’s short story . A Canadian-born author, Allen incorporates utopian ideals and contemporary pseudoscientific theories, particularly eugenics, to critique Victorian Canadian societal constructs. The story presents a dystopian vision of Fourier’s phalansteric life, where individual desires are subsumed under collective progress, raising critical questions about identity and morality. Based in historiography and affect theory, this article situates Allen’s work within the larger context of Canadian literary explorations of national identity and ethical dilemmas. This article examines the story’s tensions between progress and humanity to argue that ‘The Child of the Phalanstery’ complicates dominant narratives of Canadianness, particularly regarding the intersections of science and moral responsibility.