Ecological Anxiety in Liz Jensen’s The Rapture

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 24, 77 - 93, 10.03.2025

Yöntem Kılkış

https://doi.org/10.46250/kulturder.1613998

Öz

The main aim of this article is to analyze Liz Jensen’s The Rapture from the perspective of the Anthropocene, focusing on how environmental catastrophes shape both the physical world and human psychology. By portraying the destructive impact of climate change and ecological collapse, Jensen presents a narrative where human actions such as fossil fuel consumption, deforestation, and chemical pollution are recognized as significant geological forces. This article explores the psychological consequences of living in a disintegrating world, emphasizing how natural disasters, rising sea levels, and extreme weather conditions exacerbate anxiety, trauma, and existential dread. In The Rapture, Jensen illustrates that the environment is not a passive backdrop but an active force that reshapes human experiences. Catastrophic events, such as storms, tsunamis, and ecosystem collapse, serve as more than plot devices; they function as material-affective agents that profoundly influence characters’ emotional and mental states. In doing so, the novel highlights the inseparability of human and nonhuman elements in navigating environmental crises. On the contrary, this article argues that The Rapture rejects narratives that treat nature as a distant, abstract threat and instead portrays it as an ever-present reality that demands urgent attention. At the same time, as this article demonstrates, Jensen’s novel decenters human sovereignty by emphasizing humanity’s vulnerability within the Anthropocene.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Liz Jensen, Anthropocene, environmental catastrophe, ecological anxiety, psychological trauma

Liz Jensen’in Elçi Romanında Ekolojik Kaygı

Öz

Liz Jensen’in Elçi adlı romanı, Antroposen Çağı perspektifinden ele alındığında, çevresel felaketlerin hem fiziksel dünyayı hem de insan psikolojisini nasıl şekillendirdiğini gözler önüne serer. Jensen, iklim değişikliği ve ekolojik çöküşün yıkıcı etkilerini betimleyerek fosil yakıt kullanımı, ormansızlaşma ve kimyasal kirlilik gibi insan faaliyetlerini önemli jeolojik güçler olarak kabul eder. Roman, doğa felaketlerinin, yükselen deniz seviyelerinin ve aşırı hava koşullarının insanlarda kaygı, travma ve varoluşsal korkuları nasıl derinleştirdiğini vurgularken, çökmekte olan bir dünyada yaşamanın psikolojik sonuçlarını da inceler. Jensen, Elçi romanında çevrenin pasif bir arka plan değil, insan deneyimlerini yeniden şekillendiren aktif bir güç olduğunu ortaya koyar. Roman boyunca fırtınalar, tsunamiler ve ekosistem çöküşleri gibi felaketler yalnızca anlatının bir parçası değil, aynı zamanda karakterlerin duygusal ve zihinsel durumlarını derinden etkileyen maddi-duygusal ajanlar olarak işlev görür. Bu bağlamda roman, çevresel krizlerin insan ve insan olmayan unsurların ayrılmaz bir bütün olduğunu vurgular. Bunun aksine, bu çalışma Elçi romanının, doğayı soyut ve uzak bir tehdit olarak ele alan anlatıları reddettiğini ve onu sürekli ve kaçınılmaz bir gerçeklik olarak sunduğunu savunur. Jensen’in romanı, Antroposen Çağı’nda insanın kırılganlığını ön plana çıkarırken insan merkezli egemenlik anlayışını da sorgular.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Liz Jensen, Antroposen, çevresel felaket, ekolojik kaygı, psikolojik travma

Kaynakça

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