Religion is present in the world of The Tripods Trilogy. The Masters do not object to an active clergy, provided that they operate within fixed guidelines.

Will's parish church at Wherton is a central presence in local life, and the Capping festival—conducted by Capped clergymen—is an important religious ritual. The un-Capped wandering stranger, Ozymandias, represents another kind of religious tradition. He identifies himself with the "Son of Man," and his gathering in of potential rebels among the children of Europe is presented as a Christ-like task.

Throughout the series, females are relegated to secondary roles. Eloise, Will's love interest, is tragically killed in the second novel so that she can become part of a museum exhibit; Eloise's mother, although kind and surprisingly self-determined for one of the Capped, nonetheless is essentially a conformist.

It is left to the young boys of the...