Human–Insect Interaction in Henrietta Rose-Innes's Nineveh

Abstract

Nineveh (2011) by Henrietta Rose-Innes tells the story of Katya Grubbs, the daughter of the pest exterminator Len Grubbs. As a girl Katya works for her father, but she leaves and starts her own pest-control business named PPR: Painless Pest Relocation. By employing the framework of human-animal studies (HAS), in which the focus is on the entanglement of human and animal lives, I explore the human characters’ attitudes towards and encounters with insects. Although references to insects are often made in works of fiction, insects occupy a marginal position in literary studies and HAS. Unlike most humans, Katya has empathy for insects and uses harmless methods to remove them from where they are not wanted. I discuss how Katya's perspective on insects is juxtaposed with the views of the other characters in the novel. I investigate if her experience is indicative of the intertwining of humans and animals proposed by HAS.