Born of Man and Woman

"Born of Man and Woman"
Author	Richard Matheson
Country	USA
Language	English
Genre(s)	Science fiction short story
Published in	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Media type	Print (Magazine)
Publication date	1950

"Born of Man and Woman" is a science fiction short story by Richard Matheson, originally published in 1950 in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. It was his first professional sale, written when he was twenty-two years old. It became the title piece in Matheson's first short story collection in 1954.

Plot summary

The story is written in the form of a "diary" in broken English kept by an apparently misshapen child who is kept chained in the basement by its parents, and frequently beaten. It is, however, able to pull its chain out of the wall and is able to observe the outside world. On one occasion it eavesdrops on a dinner party, but is overheard, returned to the basement, and beaten. On another occasion it climbs to a small window and observes its siblings outside, playing with friends. One of the siblings spots the child, and it is again beaten, and bleeds green blood. In a final incident, its young sister (to whom it refers as "little mother") comes into the basement with her pet. The child hides from them in the coal pile, but is forced to crush the pet to death when it smells the child and attacks.

The story ends with the child hitting a stick out of its father's hands and promising violence against its parents if they beat it further. It thinks about running along walls, and it is revealed it has more than one set of limbs showing that it is extraordinarily different from a normal child - this is the reason its parents keep it locked away.

Born of Man and Woman was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one of the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964.