Date of Award
2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in English
Department
English
First Advisor
Derek Nikitas
Abstract
The Empire is a dystopian novel set in Russia in the not-so-distant future, where moral and ethical norms erode, and state institutions are destroyed by corruption and the authoritarian regime. The novel will imagine what could happen if the current trends in Russian society - such as the revived imperialism, militarism, extreme atomization, and the cult of power, etc. - continue to flourish. In particular, the novel will explore how an individual would adapt to the conditions where one’s life is not recognized as having any value, and there is not even a remnant of institutionalized humanism anymore. The Empire’s main character is Kira, a woman in her mid-thirties in the state of extreme nihilism who deals with depression, alcohol addiction, and a dysfunctional affair. The novel follows Kira’s attempt to seek out pockets of political resistance and to find meaning within the failed state she is confined to.
Recommended Citation
Duvanova, Tatiana, "THE EMPIRE: A DYSTOPIAN NOVEL" (2024). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 1639.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/1639