Agentive Sun: A New Materialist View of Nature-Technology Interactions in Klara and the Sun
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This paper explores the role of the sun as a symbol of agentive force in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun through the lens of new materialism. By examining Klara, an advanced AI “Artificial Friend,” and her relationship with the sun, the paper demonstrates how the sun represents natural energy and interacts with technological materiality, specifically Klara’s artificial body. The analysis reveals how the sun’s agentive power influences Klara’s behavior and emotions, highlighting the complex interactions between nature and technology. This study argues that the novel challenges traditional binaries between nature and technology and proposing that ethical responsibility should be distributed across a network of human and non-human agents, suggesting a more integrated understanding of human and non-human materialities.
DOI: 10.54097/07jfeb47
Author: Yaqi Li
Institution: Beijing Forestry University
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409420945