This study investigates the possibilities of human life in outer space and the implications ofremoving the numinous dimension from creation, using Olga Ravn's novel The Employees.The main question is: How is human life portrayed in Olga Ravn's novel The Employees?What happens when the numinous is removed from creation, and what can this, throughliterature's defamiliarizing potential, reveal about human life? Using Ravn's novel,Stevensson's theory of human nature and Rudolf Otto's concept of the numinous, three keythemes are detected: relationships and emotional life, the dissolution of boundaries, andseparation. The theme of relationships and emotional life presents a technocratic societyvaluing efficiency over emotions, where contact with artifacts from the planet “NewDiscovery” transforms and increases humanity both born (humans) and unborn (cyborgs). Thedissolution of boundaries blurs lines between beings, suggesting human identity and life-deathdistinctions are fluid and interconnected. Separation highlights the loss of belonging, usingthe allegory of mother-child separation to emphasize attachment needs between human andearth. The study concludes that human life requires a society valuing emotions, relationships,and a sense of belonging to a greater whole, challenging the idea of human supremacy
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-530428 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Pettersson, Angelica |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Systematisk teologi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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