Triangle (Star Trek essay)
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| Title: | Triangle |
| Creator: | Margaret Boyd |
| Date(s): | April 1985 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Topic: | |
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Triangle is a 1985 essay by Margaret Boyd printed in the New Zealand zine Nome v.3 n.2.
The topic was the relationship between Spock and Christine Chapel, and Spock and Uhura.
Some Topics Discussed
- the love triangle of Spock, Uhura, and Christine Chapel
- Spock and Uhura having more in common, professionally and as "minorities"
- Uhura and Christine's friendship
- the author expects that Spock and Uhura will remain together in the future
From the Essay
I have for some time been intrigued by the possibility of there being more than a good working relationship between Communications Officer Uhura and Science Officer Spock, Although not even hinted at in the series - or was it? - certainly jt is an often-found theme in fan fiction. Take for example the recent Uhura issue of " NOME", which featured two stories: "Things Unsaid" by Lana Brown, and "Precognition" by Margaret Boyd, both of which implied this relationship. Curiously, both stories had the principals not admitting to it until the imminent death of one or both forced the truth out! So, if only in the realm of fan fiction, Spock and Uhura did indeed have a 'thing' going, it was not common knowledge - in fact, no-one even suspected it! Even more surprisingly this included Christine Chapel, which made for a very odd triangle indeed!
Considering that Nurse Chapel was head-over-heels in love with the Vulcan, and that the head nurse and communications officer were, by all accounts, very good friends, it is an almost unbelievable situatioi But true. How did Uhura manage this extraordinary feat; effectively taking Spock out from under Christine's nose without her even realising?
What is apparent is that Uhura end Spock have much more in common than Christine and Spock had. As nurse, Christine saw him mostly when he was at his less-than-best. It is of credit to her that she loved him anyway, regardless of whether he was sick, bleeding, dying, being operated on, blind, or merely enraged! Also, it is generally accepted that the Chapel/Spock love affair was a one-sided thing; she loved, he accepted and tolerated this, tried not to be dismayed by it or, by his inability to return her feeling, cause her too much pain. She, Christine, initiated it, and he, Spock, endured it: never was it openly acknowledged by either of them. But with Uhura, quite a different range of experience was presented. Being a member of the bridge crew, she was on an equal footing with the First Officer as they frequently worked the same shifts. They saw each other in much more normal circumstances: exploring planets, mending equipment, coping with crises, and to all appearances went very well together. We see her being treated as an equal, with much respect and appreciation of her abilities and talents, for she is an expert in her chosen fields. They have non-work interests in common too; we have seen Uhura sing to Spock's accompaniment on the Vulcan harp, in the episodes "Charlie X" and "Return to Eden". And just who was it taught her to play the Vulcan harp - an instrument so difficult to play that very few humans have ever mastered it? If one were to apply some common sense and a smattering of the ID1C principle, it would not be the conventionally lovely - although fake - blonde (smart and caring though Chapel was) that the alien Mr Spock should be attracted to but the dark and sultry beauty named Uhura. Why? Even in "Star Trek's" time, chauvinism thrived - did we ever see a woman in a real position of authority and responsibility.
No doubt - as now - a black woman had a much harder time of it than a white one did. One suspects, despite her intelligence and abilities, Uhura had to really work for her career. This unspoken prejudice is indeed something Mr Spock would be more than familiar with from his own background. I recall too that Spock in another form - the Medusan from "Is There In Truth No Beauty? recited poetry to Uhura: She walks in beauty like the night' he says, and means it for as the formal, cool Spock he could never say anything as elegantly appropriate as that. Did we ever see him do that for Christine Chapel? No.
It could be said that Spock's attitude to the two women is a distinct giveaway, as he is protective and solicitous with Uhura, yet he is distinctly uncomfortable around Nurse Chapel. Perhaps it is Christine herself that provides the answer to this, and that perversely shows Uhura to be such a capable, fulfilled, well-rounded woman! For Christine has settled for being a nurse, taking orders, when she is a qualified doctor herself, and should be giving the orders - or at the very least questioning them? It seems a second-rate thing to do, to be less than you know you can be: an accessory, not the main act. Still, as a career nurse there is no doubt that Chapel is excellent at her job, and she is no sluggard in the brains department either - Ph.D.'s aren't just given out! Is she lacking motivation, or does she simply like being on the 'Enterprise1, like being with the one she loves, and finds that satisfying enough?
Whatever the truth, it is a most curious set of circumstances, made even more difficult to understand by the confrontation with the Platonians. These beings played games with the crew, making Christine kiss Spock, and Uhura paired off with Captain Kirk. As these couplings were forced, some have thought that the Platonians read their {Kirk's and Spock's) minds and found the truth there, but another explanation presents itself. The minds searched were those of the women, and being with Spock, though not of course under such circumstances, was indeed what Christine wanted, and Spock could not control his actions. Uhura maybe did not want to hurt her friends, and concentrated her mind instead on Kirk who long has wanted to get to know her better! So Uhura kept on with playing a part that not even Miss Chapel knew about!
How is it that Chapel doesn't know, or doesn't even suspect? She brings Spock soup in 'Amok Time', hosts his mind in 'Return to Tomorrow', holds his hand when she thinks he can't know about it in sickbay, and there are countless other caring, loving things she is only too happy to do for him. She cannot be oblivious to the Bantu woman's attraction to Mr Spock - does she regard it as a special, necessary friendship and pay it no mind, does she assume that because Spock cannot feel love for tier, he therefore cannot feel it for anyone else either?
It is not very nice to think that the other two members of this triangle have not told her what is really going on. Or have they not even admitted it to themselves - in fan fiction it takes an enormously stressful situation to bring the barriers down. Perhaps Spock realises that having one woman in love with him is more than enough to have to cope with, never mind having two of them, competing!
It would seem then, that there is no real need to do the honourable thing, and make the Big Declaration. What good would it do? Obviously Spock can clean up this way, the best of two women is his! Why go and make the issue complicated? Yet, I would like to think that they are not being unkind to Chapel, not using her, not playing on her feelings for the Vulcan to use as a shield for Uhura, whom, don't forget, no-one even suspects. Chapel is a far from stupid woman: when did she begin to realise that finally there was no hope of her ever succeeding with Mr Spock?
Prior to the V'ger Incident, both Chapel and Uhura were back on the 'Enterprise', surprisingly Chapel was now the doctor, as Leonard McCoy had vacated the position. Uhura too, had been promoted. Just their still being there together showed how dedicated the women were to this ship, their careers, their friendship too, one suspects. After V'ger, Chapel is no longer seen amongst the "Star Trek" family, and no explanation is given. When, with Spock's emerging humanity, her obvious loving may finally have had a chance of being returned: payment in full after all those years! Or did her career pick up impetus and she was offered a position she simply couldn't refuse? We'll never know, she just was not there any more.
My theory is that, following his V'ger experience, Mr Spock finally felt enough to tell her the score, that he could never return her love for him as there was another, and in fact there always had been. (In truth, there was a "Star Trek" film script penned, I think by Phil Kaufman, that was a love story about Mr Spock, the man who couldn't love, but did.) Whatever, Doctor Chapel transferred out; we didn't even see her as a teacher at Star Fleet. She is quite gone!
But did Mr Spock also tell Uhura? He must have, he owed it to her and to the years of friendship that Chapel and Uhura had shared aboard the 'Enterprise'. His feelings of decency wouldn't permit him to do otherwise. One has to sympathise with Uhura - to gain, only to lose! She is seen determinedly dry-eyed at Spock's funeral, while beside her his protege Saavik weeps as though her heart is breaking! This showed an enviable stoicism on the part of the Commander, or was the pain so very great as to numb her, or did she absolutely refuse to shame him in death? Whatever the reason, hers was certainly a Pyrrhic victory.