Character sketch

In John Wyndham's novel, The Chrysalids, Petra is the younger sister of the Strorm family. Just like David, She is telepathic and extremely talented in the usage of her power but yet still in the mist of her, as they would call, mutation. Rosalind has mentioned to David, she does not consider Petra as one of them but admits her power of a telepath: "Something like us, but not one of us. None of us could command like that. She's something much more than we are."(84) As the discovery of Petra's power continues, David and the others watched her and kept her safe from the burden of being a mutant, a deviation, and the worst of all, a blasphemy. In danger of being discovered, Michael's thoughts were clear and so does David, to protect the others, even if they had to kill: "You understand what that means, David?" "They are scared of us. Ready to break us down in the attempt to find out more about us -once they catch us. You mustn't let them get hold of Rosalind or Petra -far better to kill them yourself than let that happen to them. You understand?"(143) Petra, knowing that they are in danger, still thinks like a child and refuses to take in the fact that normal people are afraid of them and will harm them in any possible way. She asks David "Why? Why should they be afraid of us? We aren't hurting them."(144) No matter how much David answers, she never understands the situation and persisted: "I dont see why." But David made sure to get it off her mind as Petra wakes up Rosalind from her sleep and moves on with their escape.All in all, Petra in the novel, The Chrysalids, plays a role as a kid of her age should, not understanding the danger and situation around her, getting excited to see unfamiliar sites, and losing control over her telepathy, yet she is understanding and helpful when they need her to be which is what leads them to the city of telepaths, the city David had dreamt of.