Chapter 1, Of the Nature of Flatland Summary

The narrator, A. Square, opens the novel by describing his world of Flatland to those in Spaceland. He equates the world to a vast sheet of paper on which shapes move about freely, but are unable to rise above or beneath the surface of the paper, just as shadows cannot move above or beneath their surface. He mentions believing this Flatland was a universe, but has since become enlightened, and no longer believes this to be true.

A. Square explains that he and his countrymen cannot distinguish one another as specific shapes, but see only straight lines. He uses the analogy of a penny on a table to explain his point. If one views the penny from above, one can see the shape, but when on an even surface with the penny, the...