Living in modernity is taxing in every sense. The constant “day to day” living of work, home, sleep, and repeat, of time as simultaneously fleeting and abundant, can lead, as we see with the protagonist Lizzie in Jenny Offill’s novel, Weather, mental illness, and a detachment to the world in a sense. The novel is structured less like your traditional prose and more like a book of witty and clever jokes, in the same vein of something you’d find at the airport bookstore. Something quick, pithy, and briefly entertaining. Offill’s book, though, is anything but briefly entertaining. What is offered in the novel are semi-brief descriptions, ponderings, and anecdotes of the psychological toll that modernity places on somebody.

Who is Lizzie though? Lizzie is a middle-class, educated, college librarian living and, in some sense, maintaining her classicalist, turned coder husband Ben, and inquisitive son Eli. Ben, like many of the other academics in the book, has had to find other means, whether pertaining to their fields or not, to find work. Lizzie and all the people in her circle fit the white, metropolitan, NPR-listening Gen-X/older Millennial type. They run podcasts, take their kids to gifted schools, and enjoy creature comforts. This bourgeois world of comforts, activities, and distractions, which have come to define our “everdays,” is at every turn stagnant and detached. Take this revealing passage, where Lizzie says:

Henry and Catherine come over for dinner. She brings giant sunflowers and I try to find a vase to hold them. She seems unnerved by all the books. “Have you read all of these?” she asks me. Later, she starts a conversation based on the idea that we’re living in unprecedented times.

 

I can see Ben hesitate. He has a complicated relationship to modern things. On the one hand, he makes educational video games. On the other, he has a PhD in classics. Two bad years on the job market and then he quit and learned to code.

 

I decide to comment for him. I recount some half-baked story about Lucretius. This guy lived in the first century BCE but claimed that in his time there was too much bored rushing around. Terrible fears one minute! Apathy the next! Catherine looks at Henry and then at me. “I just meant politics,” she says. (Offill 37).

For context, this passage is the entirety of the scene; as one perhaps would perceive this as being part of a bigger scene, its entirety is an anecdote that analogizes Lucretius with Ben, but also everyone. In this one scene, the many sorts of contradictions and banalities with modernity and time are sort of on display. Firstly, her being a librarian, the inferably large mounds of books they have, and the “idea that we’re living in unprecedented times” point to the way modernity modulates between productivity, urgency, and leisure. This is later supplemented by the second part of the anecdote, the all too real work force experience of Ben. He studied for years in a very contemplative, critical field that is some parts leisure, some parts productivity, and perhaps little urgency into a field that is perhaps all productivity and all urgency. The final part of the anecdote uses the story of Lucretius to capture the precise modulation between dread and malaise, but the sort of ‘volta’ or punchline, if you will permit me, is Catherine’s own sort of apathetical dismissal of the analogy Lizzie was trying to make.

As if to say, “I was just referring to politics; it’s not that deep.” What we hear in this aphoristic anecdote is a display of the inability to historize, so key to the postmodern condition. ‘ So many books, yet so little time to read them. So much knowledge, all of it useless when all you really need to know is how to use Python. Lucretius, an important poet and philosopher, is just a relic of the past. The politics of today are just the politics of now. Nothing ever happens.’ Yet as we’ll see later in the novel as Lizzie starts to integrate this condition she finds herself in, things indeed are happening, slowly but surely.

Through this whole semester we’ve read many texts and articles about climate fiction and how it ends up in these fictional realties, But as I’ve read more and more into it there’s a very thin blurred line between fiction and the world as we know it now. In Ghosh’s novel People constantly have to change their way of life and adapt to the new changes thrown at them from nature, And in Butlers novel they’re in a apocalyptic world trying their best to survive with what little resources and skills they have. Both are examples of what can happen to the world as we know and are living our every day lives in.

As the days go by the climate clock also goes down, Is that our apocalyptic countdown for humanity and the time for us to try our best to save it or is there no turning back from the damage we’ve done to the planet already. Or are we going to adapt like the the characters in Ghosh’s and Butlers novel… is there a way for seven billion people to adapt to such a unknown and drastic change that they cannot predict as the earth is getting more and more unpredictable as the days pass. Or will we be stuck in our ignorant ways and continue life as it is in the west where people do not believe in things like climate change.

The west is often depicted as one of the most innovative and leading countries in the world and because of how much power they hold they have control over many things globally but only come second to certain other countries. While the East is the most effected by the actions of the west and everybody outside of there. Few specific countries are heavily affected in the East from the actions of the Western countries when it comes to climate change and how consumerism has taken over in such a horrid way where every miniscule thing is mass produced, used, and thrown out which becomes a constant cycle till the environment gets worser and worser.

It seems like we’re closer to a climate apocalypse rather than changing our ways as human for the better of the planet and our own future. The Human nature of greed is going to cause the demise of humanity as people value profit over anything and everything. To change the planet for the better humans have to change which is something that seems very unlikely.

In Weather by Jenny Offill, Part 2 plays an important role in showing Lizzie’s emotional state. As we can see, Lizzie is struggling with anxiety and a deep sense of uncertainty in life. The way the story is written is a good reflection of how she feels scattered/overwhelmed, much like other human beings. Part 2 of this book helps us readers understand how Lizzie’s worries about the world, her relationships, and her place in life are affecting her emotionally.

One of the main things that Lizzie struggles with is her fear of the future. For example, we see this on page 106: “Elis is at the kitchen table, trying all his markers one by one to see which still work. Ben brings him a bowl of water so he can dip them in to test. According to the current trajectory, New York City will begin to experience dramatic, life-altering temperatures by 2047.”  As discussed in class, this represents how Lizzie’s thoughts are all over the place, yet she is concerned about how this change will affect her future, which is her son, who will be living in 2047. She becomes more worried about climate change and the state of the world and often thinks about disasters, like wildfires or floods, and feels like things are getting worse every day. She feels helpless in the face of such big problems. This constant worry about the future makes her feel anxious and even more disconnected from the world around her, which is demonstrated in her emotional state. She is overwhelmed by the idea that the world is falling apart, and she can’t control any of it.

To add to what I said in blog post #5, Lizzie’s relationships with others also reflect her emotional struggles. In Part 2, we continue to see distance from her husband and friends. She doesn’t always connect with them in meaningful ways, which adds to her feeling of isolation. She tries to talk to people, but her conversations are very awkward. This emotional distance also shows how Lizzie is struggling, even though she is physically surrounded by people. Her inability to fully connect with others shows how her anxiety is truly affecting her personal life.

Finally, Part 2 emphasizes Lizzie’s feelings of meaninglessness. She starts to question whether anything she does matters. This sense of not finding purpose in her work or life adds to her emotional confusion. Lizzie seems to be searching for meaning, but she doesn’t know where to find it. Overall, Part 2 shows how Lizzie’s internal struggles, from anxiety to disconnectedness, are shaping her emotional world. By looking at her fears, relationships, and search for meaning, we see how deeply affected she is

In part 2 of “Weather,” we get more perspectives surrounding environmental concerns. Lizzie’s daily interactions with the characters reveal attitudes toward climate change. It ranges from attitudes from doomers to indifference towards ecological problems and the fate of human civilizations. For example, Lizzie states, “people are really sick of being lectured to about glaciers. “Listen,  I’ve heard all about that,” says this red-faced man. “But what’s going to happen to the American weather?” (73). The attitude reflects the limitations of advocation and education on climate change to the masses. This attitude of indifference is connected to the lack of knowledge and understanding of Slow violence where the masses are unable to see the impacts of climate change in their lives. Climate change is taught on large scales such as the declines of glaciers, lands, and levels of the atmosphere. Many would feel indifferent towards these large scales because of the inevitableness and uncontrolled by humans, thereby projecting the same attitudes towards climate change. This leads to a lack of attention and awareness in the public, resulting in the rapid rate of climate change. This makes me appreciate the importance of Sci-fi novels portraying climate change on a smaller scale. Reading is an essential action within our daily life and being in touch with the masses. Thereby, educating about climate change through novels holds the power to change the reader’s perspectives, and Sci-fi novels present the daily Anthropocene with public-liked genres such as comedy and romance. For example, Butler’s book inspires readers to attain essential skills and prepare in advance for possible environmental destruction.

Secondly, Ben, Lizzie’s husband, provides a dismissive attitude towards climate change. This type of person dismisses the idea that human extinction is the result of climate change. Their foundation of belief seems to be built on see to believe. He states, “I only believe in math, he mumbled. Show me the math, okay?”(88) when Lizzie tries to share her learning of the climate. He brushed it off by requesting evidence. Lizzie rebutted that Ben won’t bother to dig for the data. On the other hand, Ben refers to Lizzie as a “crazy doomer”(89) explains her perspectives on climate change and her life. She has a depressive perspective towards her life throughout the book. Her thoughts could indicate embracing environmental destruction and even looking forward to it. When her niece’s birth is being celebrated instead of living in the moment, she thinks about the worst case where happiness would be taken away. Other characters were celebrating while Lizzie concludes that “Nothing lasts forever is the conclusion reached.” (99). A difference from Butler’s book which seeks to build a future from the crisis, this book leads more to embracing the human fate of extinction.

As we read further into Weather, we can see how the roles that Lizzie takes on take a toll on her. It is evident she misses a time when she did not have the same responsibilities or knowledge about the world she has now. She misses the people she loved, not having to worry, and “not knowing evil or sad things”. Being a mother, sister, daughter, friend, worker, and wife all have their own expectations that she must meet individually. In the first part, the tone is slightly more relaxed as there is a fast paced nature and the narrator has more of a handle on things. Her panic about the world, in the sense of her own life but also the bigger picture of everything and everyone is setting in more. When her son has a concert, the narrator claims the last song is one about our lives and time being fleeting which seems like a very dire topic for children to sing about. Whether this is reality or Lizzie is warping or exaggerating the lyrics, it is clear she feels fearful or uncertain about the future. Growing up, a child has a lot of irrational fears about the world and having a parent that can provide stability and reassurance is important. But the narrator is seemingly being thrown off balance with all that is in front of her. This is very relatable in thinking about the day to day responsibilities we all have while also dealing with existential dread and fear about things that aren’t so irrational anymore.

We also see Lizzie deal with her own morality more in Part 2. She questions whether or not she is a good person or makes good decisions. Later in the chapter, she thinks back to when she visited a friend and ruined her towel. And while she decided to tell the truth about what happened she wished she stole money from a vegetable stand when heading back home. I think this was an interesting anecdote considering we often reflect back on “bad” or morally gray decisions made and have regrets about not doing the right thing. Here, it seems Lizzie goes back and forth with the way she wants to live her life and about the decisions she makes.