Gender and Dystopia in Station Eleven

 

Gender and Dystopia in Station Eleven

 Summary   

The novel Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel is a post-apocalyptic novel detailing multiple time lines after the occurrence of a devastating flu pandemic which wiped out the majority of the earths population, leading to the collapse of modern society. The narrative focuses on characters involved with a traveling troupe of musicians and actors who perform Shakespeare, all of whom are connected to one key character who was a famous actor performing the night the flu began.

 The story is structured in a way which travels back and forth through time to contrast the differences between the current world, and the world pre pandemic to show us how the lives of the characters have changed after the collapse of society. Through this, we can admire the beauty and value that comes from art, humanity, and human connection. 

Discussion of Gender

In terms of gender within Station Eleven, there are two key characters we should examine-- firstly, the ever mysterious Arthur Leander. Arthur is a character who certainly haunts the narrative, as we see how he has connections to characters throughout the entirety of the novel. Arthur himself never saw the flu, and therefore has not had to live through the tragedy many of the characters have. He spent his life being self absorbed, and always acting. Throughout the novel, we witness Arthur struggling with his ego and becoming overwhelmed by emptiness, he is famous for leaving women abruptly and breaking their hearts and only finds meaning in his work as an actor-- overall, we see how his career ultimately consumes him, and damages his humanity. At the end of his life, his whole world revolves around acting, and this ultimately does give his character a sense of peace when he dies on stage of a heart attack. 

Kirsten Raymonde is a member of the Traveling Symphony and former child actor, being incredibly young when the Flu began and not remembering much of her life before it. She struggles with the violence of the current world, and clings to the arts as a reason to keep on living. Kirsten goes as far as to mark her body with tattoos as evidence of the people she has killed, arguably a way for her to cling her humanity in a dystopian and violent world. It is through acting and the ability to create art in a desolate world that Kirsten can still find meaning in life and a reason to keep surviving, but also to do more than simply survive. 

While Arthur's ego has made it easy for him to enact harm through his ever growing list of women he loves and then leaves-- Kirsten carries a lot of guilt towards her actions. Despite this, both have found solace and reason in their love for the arts, and specifically, acting. While for Arthur acting was a way for him to be anyone he wanted, and adopt varying personas all for himself-- Kirsten wishes to share Shakespeare, and keep art alive in a post apocalyptic world. 

  Discussion of Dystopia  

Station Eleven has a unique take on dystopia as instead of focusing solely on brutality and violence, we get to explore the value which comes from art and connection. The novel specifically follows the journey of the Traveling Symphony and their goal to keep the art of Shakespeare alive, while still exploring their memories of the post apocalyptic world. This differs hugely from what we typically see in Dystopian fiction, where the characters are entirely involved in the violence and have morphed themselves to fit the world they're thrown into. This contrasts the characters in Station Eleven, such as Kirsten, who seem to cling to their humanity and despite the world they reside in having fallen apart, they still maintain their love for the arts. 

Through this, we can see how there are examples of Dystopia which do not rely so much on the gore and grotesque factor, and instead lean into humanity and finding beauty within a broken world. Kirsten and Arther are examples of characters who deal with their troubles in similar ways, while facing entirely different scenarios. Both are able to teach us how in order to best survive, we must find something we love and cling to it. 

(Emily St. John Mandel, Author.)

Works Cited 

Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. Vintage Books, 2014.