A post-humanist spatial analysis of the novel: The End of the World as We Know It

Abstract

Post-humanism is a critical approach that questions the anthropocentric structure of humanism, rethinking the relationships between humans, nature, technology, and non-human entities. This study analyses the spatial structure in Erlend Loe’s novel, The End of the World As We Know It, within the framework of post-humanist theory, examining how it reflects post-humanist thought by redefining the human-nature-technology relationship. The research employs qualitative content analysis, and the novel is examined using a close reading technique. Spatial sections are evaluated according to the categories of radical, mediated, methodological, critical, and pessimistic post-humanism. The findings show that space in the novel transforms around four main axes: escape from the city to nature, hybrid living spaces formed by the interaction of nature and technology, interspecies symbiosis between humans and animals, and a critique of modern technology. Mediated post-humanism is particularly prominent, making visible new forms of life supported by technology within nature. The protagonist’s spatial experiences question modern life, anthropocentric thought, and the boundaries between human and non-human beings. Within the residential interior, this transformation becomes visible through furniture, technological equipment, energy infrastructure, and arrangements for interspecies use. Consequently, the study reveals how post-humanist thought is represented in literature through spatial constructs. The research makes an original contribution by operationalising existing post-humanist categories via spatial indicators, thereby systematically analysing the relationships among humans, nature, technology, and non-human actors within the novel’s spaces. Thus, an interdisciplinary link is established between post-humanist theory and architectural spatial analysis through literary texts.