Literary visions of post-apocalyptic worlds in the works of Mary Shelley, Margaret Atwood and Maggie Gee

Gönül Bakay

doi:10.5007/2175-7976.2020.e73578

Abstract

Once hailed as the pinnacle of evolutionary progress, the human subject has more recently been under severe attack due to the destructive potential that has been unleashed by humans, especially in the last two hundred years. As a result, contemporary literature and art is replete with images of a utopia without humans. Many writers see humans, or rather human destructiveness, as the real plague on the planet and offer visions of utopia placed in the post-apocalyptic post-human era. Drawing on Patricia Vieira’s seminal article titled “Utopia and Dystopia in the Age of the Anthropocene”, I will first discuss how Mary Shelley portrayed ecological awareness in her The Last Man. I will then move on to examine how increasing ecological destruction leads to (post)-apocalyptic visions in the works of Margaret Atwood and Maggie Gee. My aim in juxtaposing two contemporary writers with Mary Shelley is to show that despite their different socio-historical contexts, these women writers have produced works that can not only be read as visionary and cautionary tales but that also promote heightened ecological awareness as an antidote to destructive and – ultimately – self-destructive tendencies of humankind.

Highlights

Once hailed as the pinnacle of evolutionary progress, the human subject has more recently been under severe attack due to the destructive potential that has been unleashed by humans, especially in the last two hundred years
The Age of the Anthropocene, during which humans have become the predominant force shaping our planet, has affected the world to a degree that was unthinkable at the start of the period, roughly, the 18th century
Once hailed as the pinnacle of evolutionary progress, since the Enlightenment, the human subject has more recently been under severe attack due to the destructive potential that has been unleashed by humans, especially in the last two hundred years

Summary

Introduction

Once hailed as the pinnacle of evolutionary progress, the human subject has more recently been under severe attack due to the destructive potential that has been unleashed by humans, especially in the last two hundred years. Drawing on these preliminary observations, I will turn to discuss how the famous romantic writer Mary Shelley portrayed ecological awareness in her novel The Last Man. I will move on to examine how increasing ecological destruction leads to (post)-apocalyptic visions in contemporary literature by focusing on Oryx and Crake by the acclaimed Canadian writer Margaret Atwood and The Ice People by the British writer Maggie Gee. My aim in juxtaposing two contemporary writers with Mary Shelley is to show that despite their different socio-historical contexts, these women writers have produced works that read as visionary and cautionary tales but that promote heightened ecological awareness as an antidote to destructive and – – self-destructive tendencies of humankind.

Results

Conclusion