ABSTRACT
This monograph approaches Atwood’s dystopian fiction from the perspective of the posthuman in the age of the Anthropocene. Posthumanist critical concerns try to find a way to dismantle anthropocentric notions of the human and defend the need for a closer relationship between humanity and the environment. Supported by the exemplification of the generic characteristics that define the cli-fi genre, this book discusses the effects of climate change, at the individual level, and as a collective threat that can lead to a “world without us.” Further, the three interpretative chapters of the novels center on a generic approach that considers the novels as dystopias. In a genre that is politically sensitive, the target for criticism takes us to the specific society and time when the novel was published. By jettisoning certain subjects that are central in The Handmaid’s Tale—religious extremism—or in MaddAddam—environmental degradation—and emphasizing others in The Heart Goes Last—biotechnological developments, restriction of civil rights—or in The Testaments—ideological state apparatuses, fourth wave feminism—Atwood shows the evolution of Western society’s maladies and her own position and response to the changes.
