Notes on the Nature of Pon Farr
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| Title: | Notes on the Nature of Pon Farr |
| Creator: | Paul Pence |
| Date(s): | 1990 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Notes on the Nature of Pon Farr is a 1990 essay by Paul Pence.
It was printed in Distasis #1.
The topic was pon farr and the extrapolations one could make if one focused only on what was presented in canon:
This monograph is based on the events depicted in the STAR TREK TV series and the movies to date, accepting them as canon. Unlike other so-called analysis pieces, this monograph avoids speculation and draws only logical summations from the available evidence.
The Essay's Main Conclusions
- THE INITIAL ONSLAUGHT OF PON FARR OCCURS AROUND AGE TWENTY.
- PON FARR IS A NATURAL, INSTINCTIVE COMPULSION THAT WAS NOT INDUCED BY VULCAN ENLIGHTENMENT.
- IT IS POSSIBLE TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF PON FARR BY THE KOHLINAHR.
- SEX IS POSSIBLE EVEN WHEN NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE PON FARR.
- FEMALE VULCANS MAY NOT EXPERIENCE THE PLAK TOW, BUT DO FEEL SOME EFFECTS OF THE PON FARR.
- DESPITE BONDING AT YOUTH AND ANY INTERVENING PON FARRS, VULCANS MAY CHOOSE NEW MATES WHEN A PREVIOUS BONDMATE DIES.
Excerpts
THE INITIAL ONSLAUGHT OF PON FARR OCCURS AROUND AGE TWENTY.
Spock appeared in his thirties during "Amok Time," and said that he hoped to be spared the Ron Farr. This may have been simply wishful thinking, though more likely Spock knew of something that was different about him that he expected would make a difference, which most fans assume would be his half-human physiology. However, in ST III, the resurrected Spock experienced his Pon Farr at around the age of twenty. If the human part of his biology was responsible for his late blooming in "Amok Time," then we would expect the same occurrence during his regeneration. So, his human biology was not responsible.
Another difference between the two incidents is that Spock was bonded in the series, but no longer bonded during ST III. It would not be practical for a species' survival for males to mate or die at twenty, yet if they find a mate, to hold off procreation until thirty five.
A third possibility is that Spock had been isolated from the Vulcan environment and expected this isolation to prevent his Pon Farr. Whereas he made a regular diet of Vulcan foods, he was isolated from female Vulcans while in Star Fleet, but spent the adolescence of his regeneration in the constant presence of a Vulcan female in her child bearing years. This influence, if the trigger for Pon Farr, would be similar to animal behavior on Earth. Since male Vulcans living on Vulcan would usually be surrounded by female Vulcans, an early Pon Farr would be natural. A Vulcan male would expect to have a delayed first Pon Farr if he traveled off-planet.
FEMALE VULCANS MAY NOT EXPERIENCE THE PLAK TOW, BUT DO FEEL SOME EFFECTS OF THE PON FARR.
Simply enough, if T'Pring was not under some compulsion by the Pon Farr, she could have arranged to be unavailable when Spock's Pon Farr arrived. Perhaps the bonding results in a connection that could be dangerous to the females if the Pon Farr is not completed. The fact that we saw little outward effect on
T'Pring is of no consequence since even on Earth we see mating cycles affect male and female differently.
DESPITE BONDING AT YOUTH AND ANY INTERVENING PON FARRS, VULCANS MAY CHOOSE NEW MATES WHEN A PREVIOUS BONDMATE DIES.
Sarek did just this when his first wife died before marrying Amanda. Up until ST V, we could only conjecture from the difference in ages, but we now know that Spock has a fully Vulcan half-brother from his father's previous marriage. We can also assume that Spock would therefore have been capable of finding a new bondmate after releasing T'Pring from their bonding.
This new bonding, however, may be a more difficult process (or perhaps simply surviving a bondmate's death is more difficult) as time goes on. This can be shown from the fact that the only elderly Vulcans are female (and only slightly affected by the Pon Farr) or priests of the Kohlinahr (and immune to the Pon Farr).
This last observation may simply be due to the same inequities that cause human males to die sooner, on the average, than female humans, but it is still a strong possibility that the Vulcan bonding becomes more intense with familiarity.