A study of the major science fiction works of Gene Wolfe
This thesis examines three major works by the American Science Fiction and Fantasy writer Gene Wolfe (Eugene Rodman Wolfe, 1931-). The central argument of this thesis is that in The Fifth Head of Cerberus (1972), the 'New Sun' cycle of novels (1980- 1987), and Soldier of the Mist (1986), Wolfe presents the human desire for knowledge of the Self and of God and the near-impossibility of attaining this knowledge. Wolfe expresses obstacles to knowledge and fulfilment in his created fictional worlds, in the characters of his protagonists, and in the complicated narrative structures that distinguish all three texts. By converting the stable and reassuring world of conventional Science Fiction into a realm of uncertainty, ambiguity, and spiritual and cognitive confusion, Wolfe radically subverts the genre and exposes it to a new subtlety and flexibility.
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
Department of English Language and Literature