In N.K. Jemisin's novel The Fifth Season, the continent called “The Stillness” is ever-changing and experiencing seasons of danger and death. This causes a continuous loss of life and culture. In addition to the seasons, the ruling government, the Sanze Equatorial Affiliation, controls what stands the test of time. By focusing on the stonelore it becomes clear that the Sanze Equatorial Affiliation shares values with fascist regimes by controlling the flow of knowledge.
Stonelore consists of three tablets concerning different areas of knowledge and contain verses within that detail what is important in survival. The stonelore is meant to be unchanged and the people are taught to follow it blindly. As the man, who is later discovered to be Alabaster, said in the prologue, “the first stonelore was actually written in stone… it couldn’t be changed to suit fashion or politics. So it wouldn’t wear away” (Jemisin 4). This idea of wanting to create a rule that can’t be changed immediately puts one on edge. It creates the idea early on in the book that the ruling class don’t want to listen to others or to have anyone that comes after changing what was created. This is supported later in the book when Alabaster tells Syenite “Stonelore changes all the time… The archeomests found some old tablets in one of the dead cities on Tapita Plateau… what was on the tablets was different, drastically so, from the lore we learned in school. For all we know, admonition against changing the lore is itself a recent addition” (Jemisin 125). This introduces the idea that even when people create their own lore the Sanze will destroy it and create rules against doing so.
In addition to destroying other’s lore, the Sanze have also been known to alter their own to accommodate for what’s to be adhered to based on their will. “There’s a reason Tablet Two is so damaged: someone, somewhere back in time, decided that it wasn’t important or wrong, and deliberately tried to obliterate it” (Jemisin 125). This shows that at one point in time those who ruled deemed Tablet Two unnecessary, but the importance of it returned in the current time. The damage on the tablet also creates partially obscured verses which contributes to the idea of controlling the interpretation. “[obscured] those who take the earth too closely unto themselves. They are not masters of themselves; allow them no mastery of others —Tablet Two: “The Incomplete Truth”, verse nine” (Jemisin 331). The verse is clearly in reference to orogenes and keeping in mind how they are treated it can be assumed what’s missing is the word “kill” or “control”. Considering that Tablet Two was once harmed, it’s implied that at one point the civilizations didn’t fear orogeny, but since the renewed fear, the tablet has become relevant again.
Looking at the other tablets and the language used, it’s easy to assume that the tablets are purposefully written in a vague manner so that those ruling at the time can alter the intended meaning in order to suit their needs. For example, “Never forget what you are. —Tablet One: “On Survival”, verse ten” (Jemisin 60). This verse could be interpreted as a reminder to keep one’s wits so as to remain mentally sound during a season, however the rest of the verses from this tablet are much more involved with physical survival causing this one to feel out of place. There is also a possible interpretation of this one to mean something more along the lines of “don’t forget your place”. Knowing that the people in power control the lore and its meaning, this doesn’t feel too far fetched. Another possibility of a dual-meaning is seen in the name of Tablet Three. This one’s subtitle is “Structures”. Looking at the second verse which states, “The body fades. A leader who would last relies on more” (Jemisin 276), this reads as advice on how to be a good leader, not on how to build good structures, while the first verse on Tablet Three relates directly to what materials to use in construction. The reader only gets the first two verses of Tablet Three in The Fifth Season, so the rest of the verses have the possibility to be related to more societal and relationship structures. However, thinking, externally from The Fifth Season, on ideas like long-term nuclear waste warning messages where the idea is to be as clear as possible in order to deter people from stumbling into radioactive areas, it doesn’t make sense for the stonelore to use multiple definitions of the word “structures”.
The stonelore is intentionally changed and altered by the ruling Sanze Equatorial Affiliation so as to control those in lower classes who are told to not change the stonelore. This is a common feature in fascist regimes in which the leaders don’t uphold the same standards for themselves.