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Vol. 30 (2022)

Temat numeru

The Fear of Infection: Open Body and Permeable Borders in Rory Power’s Wilder Girls and Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.35757/CIV.2022.30.04
Submitted: October 4, 2022
Published: December 29, 2022

Abstract

The article addresses the question of the stability of the boundaries of the human body and its relationship with the surrounding reality. In relation to the fear of what enters our bodies from the outside, emerging as a result of climate change and increasing environmental toxicity, I bring up the concepts of thinkers such as Stacy Alaimo, Donna Haraway and Karen Barad to reflect on how to rethink our relationship with the environment. I address this issue through reading two eco-horror novels, Rory Power’s Wilder Girls (2019) and Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation (2014). The most important topics of the analysis are the relationship between the inside and outside of the body, the entanglements between people and the environment, the transformations of bodies resulting from infection and the importance of language. Referring to Bethany Doane’s article “Sublime Annihilation and Planetary Ecohorror” (2020), I reflect on the ethical dimension of such stories and their significance in the face of climate catastrophe.

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