Remarkable Creatures

Remarkable Creatures examines a historical period when a morally conservative society, deeply influenced by religious orthodoxy and traditional beliefs, conflicts with emerging scientific theories. Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot experience resistance when their paleontological discoveries challenge their community’s established religious beliefs and intellectual paradigms. The empirical evidence of their discoveries threatens to redefine traditional understandings of creationism, natural history, and the relationship between faith and reason.

Elizabeth describes the townspeople’s reactions to the fossils by saying that, “few wanted to delve into unknown territory, preferring to hold on to their superstitions and leave unanswerable questions to God’s will rather than find a reasonable explanation that might challenge previous thinking” (97-98). Elizabeth finds this attitude frustrating, as she yearns to get to the bottom of this mystery. She and Mary think the fossilized animals are remarkable creatures that are worthy of study; in contrast, the people of Lyme Regis refer to the fossilized prehistoric creatures as monsters. Labeling them as abnormalities or as something grotesque underscores society’s unwillingness to accept innovative ideas because they are afraid of changing old ways of thinking. Mary says that they are “frightened of what they don’t understand” (64). Initially, she calls her first big fossil a “crocodile,” which makes it seem familiar since she gives it a familiar name. It is only when Elizabeth says it is certainly something else that Mary, too, begins to question her previous assumptions about the world and its creatures; many of her ideas stem from the orthodox branch of Christianity that she and her family follow. The proper naming of the fossil by scientists is a significant moment because it shifts from being a monster or an innocuous crocodile to an ichthyosaur, and people must accept that it is real even though the Bible makes no mention of it.

The novel explores one of the main conflicts between religion and science at the time: the concept of extinction. When Mary Anning finds the skeleton of an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived millions of years ago, many people refuse to believe that such a creature ever existed or could have vanished. Elizabeth explains that “The idea is troubling to people because it suggests that God does not have a hand in it, that He created animals and then sat back and let them die” (122). The idea that God would extinguish one of His creations or the implication that somehow the creatures are mistakes is blasphemous to the religious people of Mary’s community. Another point of contention revolves around the religious community’s assertion that the earth is only 6,000 years old. Mary’s findings suggest that the earth is far older and has experienced dramatic changes over time, as reflected in fossils buried in sedimentary rock layers. Religious leaders like the vicar, Reverend Jones, and even scholars like Mr. Buckland reject the new theories concerning deep time and defend the literal interpretation of the Bible. When Elizabeth confronts Reverend Jones with her questions about this, his awkward responses reveal his discomfort with questioning Christian ideology. However, Mary and Elizabeth are determined to investigate further; the more fossils they pull from the clay, the more they understand that they are alone in their open-mindedness in Lyme Regis.

Ultimately, Remarkable Creatures argues that religion and science can coexist peacefully and even harmoniously to help people understand the universe and its mysteries. Mary and Elizabeth recognize a greater force at work in the natural world; they feel amazement and wonder, not fear and trepidation. They also understand that there is always more to learn and explore and that their knowledge is finite. Counter to the limiting beliefs of religious dogma, Elizabeth embraces a more expansive view, proposing interpretations of the Biblical account of creation that allow for more extended periods of time or symbolic interpretations rather than literal ones. Rather than seeing the fossils as profane aberrations, she views them as objects that inspire awe and curiosity. Elizabeth says that she “forget[s] sometimes that people see fossils as the bones of the dead. […] [She] tend[s] to view them more as works of art reminding us of what the world was once like” (263). Mary, too, doesn’t see the fossils as dire symbols of death; rather, she is inspired to uncover the old histories that are written in the old stones and bones they dig up. Elizabeth and Mary’s experience with scientific findings that challenge their religious beliefs underscores the idea that a loss of certainty doesn’t have to coincide with a loss of faith.