Water- a Beyond Human Force in Shafak’s There Are Rivers in The Sky

Abstract

This research explores Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers in The Sky (2024) from the perspective of posthumanism. It investigates the strategies used for the configuration of post humanist elements in the selected text by focusing on the water narrative of the novel. Rosi Braidotti’s concept of “contemporary critical posthumanism” is used in order to analyse the selected text. The concept of critical posthumanism is applied to strongly critique anthropocentric perspectives. In this way the research will assert the agency of non-human things by depicting human narratives as less dominant. The research has been able to employ Braidotti’s concept to advantage by exploring the water’s exceptional force in Elif Shafak’s There Are Rivers in The Sky. This has been done by focusing on the interconnectedness of humans and non-humans and thinking beyond the traditional hierarchies set by Humanist philosophers. Catherine Belsey’s textual analyses has been used for research method which includes close reding of the text to add all the details. The analyses of the novel uncover various strategies it employs like water’s dynamic agency, interconnectedness and subjectivity of characters due to their entanglement with water to depict post humanist elements. Thus, this study explores the mutual relationship between humans and non-humans in the environment by defining the place of non-human entities. It also contributes to the discussion of human codes of conduct with nature in relational environment.