The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man
This article explores how social, political and ecological issues precipitated by a cholera pandemic are not only dramatized in Mary Shelley’s novel, The Last Man (1826), but also how these reflect the continued radicalization of her own life and ideas. I want therefore to argue for a reading of th...
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Föreningen Tidskriften Moderna språk
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Moderna Språk |
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| Online Access: | https://publicera.kb.se/mosp/article/view/19717 |
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| author | Ronald Paul |
| author_facet | Ronald Paul |
| author_sort | Ronald Paul |
| collection | DOAJ |
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This article explores how social, political and ecological issues precipitated by a cholera pandemic are not only dramatized in Mary Shelley’s novel, The Last Man (1826), but also how these reflect the continued radicalization of her own life and ideas. I want therefore to argue for a reading of the novel that goes beyond its obvious dystopian dimensions. In particular, in a striking reversal, how the plague triggers not chaos, confusion and conflict, but opens up utopian spaces for active cooperation and political engagement. Instead of merely being a story of ineluctable human extinction, Mary Shelley offers a more challenging diagnosis of worldwide contagion and its historical implications.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f1fb8d5361e04dfda18c2eb9d281174b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2000-3560 |
| language | deu |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Föreningen Tidskriften Moderna språk |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Moderna Språk |
| spelling | doaj-art-f1fb8d5361e04dfda18c2eb9d281174b2024-12-19T17:53:37ZdeuFöreningen Tidskriften Moderna språkModerna Språk2000-35602024-12-01118310.58221/mosp.v118i3.19717The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last ManRonald Paul0University of Gothenburg This article explores how social, political and ecological issues precipitated by a cholera pandemic are not only dramatized in Mary Shelley’s novel, The Last Man (1826), but also how these reflect the continued radicalization of her own life and ideas. I want therefore to argue for a reading of the novel that goes beyond its obvious dystopian dimensions. In particular, in a striking reversal, how the plague triggers not chaos, confusion and conflict, but opens up utopian spaces for active cooperation and political engagement. Instead of merely being a story of ineluctable human extinction, Mary Shelley offers a more challenging diagnosis of worldwide contagion and its historical implications. https://publicera.kb.se/mosp/article/view/19717Mary ShelleyThe last manpolitical radicalismcholera pandemicecologyutopian spaces |
| spellingShingle | Ronald Paul The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man Moderna Språk Mary Shelley The last man political radicalism cholera pandemic ecology utopian spaces |
| title | The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man |
| title_full | The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man |
| title_fullStr | The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man |
| title_full_unstemmed | The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man |
| title_short | The radical challenge of Mary Shelley’s The Last Man |
| title_sort | radical challenge of mary shelley s the last man |
| topic | Mary Shelley The last man political radicalism cholera pandemic ecology utopian spaces |
| url | https://publicera.kb.se/mosp/article/view/19717 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ronaldpaul theradicalchallengeofmaryshelleysthelastman AT ronaldpaul radicalchallengeofmaryshelleysthelastman |