A Terrifyingly Relevant Reality: Civilization, Interconnectedness, and The Beginning of the End in Emily Mandel’s Station Eleven
‘She was trying to reframe the story as an exciting adventure, the time I got stuck in Asia during a flu outbreak’ (226). With these words, Mandel hits the mid-covid-19 pandemic audience right in the heart. Never before did a novel such Station Eleven resonate with an audience than before the covid-19 pandemic hit the United States and the rest of the world. In this essay, I will explain why Miranda’s being in Malaysia is so important for interpreting the meaning of the novel, and I will explain how this scene makes the novel so relatable to an audience in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.
The Malaysia setting is significant to the meaning of the book because it ties together several bigger themes prevalent in the novel. The first important theme that occurs in Malaysia is the theme of civilization, visualized through the symbol of an airplane. Miranda traveled to Malaysia with an airplane; when she left, the Georgia Flu was still unheard of and civilization was normal. During her stay in Malaysia, the Georgia Flu spread among the population and suddenly, taking an airplane was no longer an option. At once, civilization changed; what was once considered the most normal thing in the world had now become something to avoid. The use of an airplane as a symbol for civilization recurs often throughout the novel. After the virus spread, people looked for airplanes in the sky to know if there was still part of normal civilization left somewhere; at Severn City Airport, people hoped one of the Red Cross airplanes would come by to help them and tell them everything would be okay; and Tyler, the Prophet, uses the shape of an airplane as a symbol of his cult, which is connected to the time when civilization, to him, consisted of the people at the Airport where he learned about religion. Thus, the Malaysia setting is important because it represents the overarching theme of civilization and longing for what civilization used to be before the pandemic.
Another important theme that comes up in Malaysia is interconnection between characters. As mentioned in this week’s lecture, Station Eleven is, amongst other genres, a network narrative. A majority of the main characters is connected, and the narrative of Malaysia shows a small part of the entire network the novel is made up of. All of the characters in this novel are connected to Arthur, who could be considered the main character. Miranda is connected to Arthur because she was his first wife. The person who informs Miranda of Arthur’s passing is Clark Thompson, connected to Arthur through friendship. Miranda and Clark, then, know of each other through Arthur: ‘“I doubt you’ll remember me, but we met briefly some years ago at a party at Cannes. Clark Thompson. Arthur’s friend.” “We met again after that,” she said. “You came to a dinner party in Los Angeles”’ (29). In other words, in the scene in Malaysia, there is a small network of three people, which reflects the bigger theme of interconnection within the novel.
The scene in Malaysia is also important because it shows how relatable the novel is to the recent happenings in the United States and the rest of the world. In Malaysia, Miranda learns about the pandemic in several steps. First, she starts to feel a little sick: ‘She was very tired, she realized, not feeling quite well, the beginnings of a sore throat’ (225). At this point, she knew of the virus but had no idea where it had spread and how deadly it was. When Miranda comes into her hotel, she notices that ‘the lobby was oddly empty. There was no front-desk staff. The concierge wore a surgical mask’ (225). Miranda realizes that this ‘Georgia Flu’ she had heard of was more serious than she initially assumed. Then, Miranda starts to understand the gravity of the situation as the world begins to shut down: ‘Every nearby airport was closed’ (225). When she eventually starts to show symptoms, she begins to rationalize the entire situation: ‘It wasn’t her imagination, she definitely had a sore throat. “It’s psychosomatic,” she said aloud. “You’re afraid of getting sick, so you feel sick. It’s nothing”’ (226). This is arguably the most relatable moment out of the entire novel; it is safe to say that every single person has, at one moment or another since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, questioned their symptoms and wondered whether they just have contracted a cold or the coronavirus.
In conclusion, the scene in Malaysia is significant to the meaning of the novel because it envelops what the entire novel is about by highlighting some of the major themes, and because it shows how relevant the novel is to the audience today. Any audience would be able to empathize with the characters, but because it is so terrifyingly accurate and relevant in 2020, the novel resonates with the audience today even more.
Works Cited
Mandel, Emily St. John. Station Eleven. Picador, 2014.
Iris Elske 