The Origins of Chimaeras. Mobilising the boundaries of species in a contemporary weird fiction novel: Anita Moskát’s Irha és bőr
The Origins of Chimaeras. Mobilising the boundaries of species in a contemporary weird fiction novel: Anita Moskát’s Irha és bőr

Summary/Abstract: Our study undertakes to interpret one of the most resonant works of contemporary Hungarian literature, Anita Moskát´s Irha és bőr (Hide and Skin) novel, from the perspective of character building. The novel allows for a multi-pronged approach to living complexity through a provocative and fruitful shift. An intelligent life form appears in the story: some animals have become subjects that show hitherto unknown anatomical-conscious features. The species are, therefore, unique chimaeras, representing a new class. In principle, global transformation can lead to infinite variance, increasing the bio-figurative diversity associated with the post-Tolkien vision. The anthropological issues of the novel, the dynamization of the relationship between human and animal characters, and the opening of human biological, legal, and cultural identities are analyzed in the context of science, weird fiction, and posthumanism.

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