The paradox of Babel
In the 1830s, England was an openly racist and sexist nation. Babel is one of the racist and sexist institutions and the most guarded in England because of its significance to the nation. Only British male citizens and graduates of the Oxford are allowed to work in this institution. Professor Lovell is one of the linguistic academics working in this entity. Ironically, Robin, a Chinese person, Rami, a Haitian person, Letty, and an English person find themselves working in Babel. Consequently, it is ironic that at such a terrible time of racism and sexism, foreigners and women had an opportunity to work in Babel.
The paradox of the British Empire
Robin and his foreign friends get to work with the secretive Babel institution. While in the institution, Robin interacts with senior members of the secret revolution and learns that they believe in violence and disturbance as the only mechanism of enriching the British Empire. For instance, the British Empire secretly causes chaos and war in other countries to access resources such as gold and silver. Similarly, the British take important resources from their colonies to enrich themselves. The paradox is that the British revolutionists do not care if people in the colonies die because their primary intention is to take important resources. Therefore, British Empire was rich not because its people were hard-working but due to the manipulation and exploitation of their colonies.
The Irony of Professor Lovell
Professor Lovell lives in the 1830s in England, a period when racism and sexism were out in the open. The British Empire during this time also capitalized on violence, manipulation, and exploitation of their colonies. Ironically, Professor Lovell does the contrary when he fights for foreigners to be part of the same secretive institution that oppresses the world for its selfish wealth acquisition. Professor Lovell convinces Babel to admit Robin, Rami, and Victoire, all foreigners, and Letty, an English woman. Therefore, Professor Lovell is a different kind of an Englishman during this time because he is neither a racist nor a sexist.
