Surrealist Becomings: Evolution, Extinction, and Climate Change in Yoko Tawada’s Memoirs of a Polar Bear
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Published at the tail end of a global polar bear craze, Tawada’s novel Memoirs of a Polar Bear is a family saga of three generations of the endangered animals: the grandmother in this tripartite tale becomes humanlike, whereas her daughter and grandson revert to more bearlike form. This article reads their lateral change through the lens of the Sixth Extinction thesis, where humanity emerges as a major selective force that drives both extinction and evolution. It applies literary theory on scale and pace, and compares theoretical approaches to the birth and death of species in critical time studies and extinction studies. Exploring the novel’s surrealist scalar juxtapositions and engagement with literary form, this article argues that Tawada subverts anthropocentric discourses of progress in evolution. It further posits that surrealism can be a productive mode for thinking through the temporal distortions of the Anthropocene.
Source: Green Letters
Author: Ines Kirschner
Institution: University of Aberdeen
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4412357180