The Drowned World

Though The Drowned World is often treated as almost uncannily prescient in its depiction of climate change, the climate catastrophe in the novel has nothing to do with human activity. How is this vision of climate change distinct—morally, symbolically, and thematically—from present reality? Why is it important that the apocalypse in the novel has not been caused by humans?

Why does Beatrice refuse to leave her lavish apartment? What does the apartment symbolize for her? What does her presence in the apartment symbolize for the other characters—especially Kerans?

Everyone on the mission experiences similar, recurring dreams. Analyze the symbolic content of these dreams. What do their frightening images represent? What do they suggest about the individual psyches of the characters and about the collective psyche of humanity?