Matriarchal Vengeance: Reading Feminist Dystopia in Naomi Alderman’s The Power
Mary Louisa Lum PhD
Abstract
Alderman’s (2016) The Power falls within the concept of post-apocalyptic dystopia which can be defined as “narratives of a world changed by some global cataclysm, need not in fact always be overtly dystopian, but may portray ostensibly idyllic back-to-nature scenarios or ideologically laden and usually masculinist fantasies of survival” (Booker and Thomas, p.11). This paper seeks to examine the conflicting binaries within gender that lead to the extreme dystopia presented in The Power. Although the author provides a fictional apocalypse that results in a drastic shift of power dynamics, contemporary realities seem to support the idea that such an apocalypse is not farfetched. Matriarchal vengeance orchestrated by women gaining superpowers have nightmarish outcomes as men are tortured and abuse. Tolerance and equality are rejected as all opposition to the new status quo is squashed. The natural environment also suffers devastation because of neglect and the destructive weapons used in the conflict. Women, who are natural protectors of the environment, are rather engaged in a war of dominance that devastates the environment thereby foreboding a dystopic future in which both the male and the environment are at danger. Millett’s (1970) and Chinweizu’s (1990) extreme views on gender roles juxtaposed with the conceptualization of gender by Beauvoir (1949) and Butler (1990) provided a theoretical context for the exploration of gender norms that could escalate matriarchal vengeance.
Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/ijlc.v11n1a1
Today
All Days
Online