The World Might End, But Love Does Not: An analysis and discussion of desire within apocalypticism with specific reference to Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation (2014) and Peng Shepherd's The Book of M (2019): How does apocalypticism and desire display love as a product of loss? A comparative analysis and discussion of desire within apocalyptic narratives exemplified with specific references to Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation (2014) and Peng Shepherd’s The Book of M (2019).
Author
Rasmussen, Stine Boye
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-05-31
Pages
75
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan apokalyptisme—fortællinger om verdens undergang—skildrer begær og kærlighed som formet af tab. Gennem en sammenlignende læsning af Jeff VanderMeers Annihilation (2014) og Peng Shepherds The Book of M (2019) analyserer jeg, hvordan hovedpersonerne—Ory, Max, Naz og biologen—udtrykker begær i ødelagte og fremmedartede landskaber. Jeg bruger “begær” om længslen efter nogen eller noget, især når det er fraværende, og “apokalyptisme” om fiktion, der forestiller sig, at den kendte verden bryder sammen. Kombinationen af kærlighed, tab og apokalyptiske temaer er kun sparsomt undersøgt, hvilket motiverer studiet. Analysen ser først på hver roman for sig og sammenligner derefter, hvordan de apokalyptiske begivenheder former, hvad personerne ønsker, og hvordan de handler. På tværs af begge romaner forstærkes begæret af tab: Personerne træder ind i fremmede apokalyptiske landskaber for at lede efter deres forsvundne partnere. Alligevel udebliver genforeningen i begge historier; de ønskede relationer bliver ikke realiseret. Resultaterne peger derfor på, at kærlighed og apokalypse i disse to værker er drevet af tab, og at tab til sidst står tilbage som den dominerende kraft i apokalyptisk fiktion.
This thesis explores how apocalypticism—stories about the end of the world—portrays desire and love as shaped by loss. Through a comparative reading of Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation (2014) and Peng Shepherd’s The Book of M (2019), I examine how the main characters—Ory, Max, Naz, and the biologist—express desire in devastated, uncanny landscapes. I use “desire” to mean longing for someone or something, especially when that person or thing is absent, and treat “apocalypticism” as fiction that imagines the collapse of the world as we know it. This combination of love, loss, and apocalyptic themes has received little prior attention, which motivates the study. The analysis first considers each novel separately, then compares how their apocalyptic events shape what the characters want and how they act. Across both novels, desire is intensified by loss: the characters enter estranged apocalyptic worlds to search for their missing partners. Yet reunion is withheld in each case; the desired relationships do not materialize. The findings therefore suggest that, in these two works, both love and apocalypse are driven by loss, and that loss ultimately prevails as the defining force in apocalyptic fiction.
[This summary has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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