Capitalism and Countryside: The Use of Glyphosate in «Fever Dream» by Samanta Schweblin

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze how the novel Fever Dream presents the health complications result from the use of glyphosate in the Argentinian rural population through a tragic family story. Since the herbicide is intrinsic to the village where the novel is set, the characters are under constant threat as poisoning can occur at any time. Danger is so cruel because, even though the characters recognize the poison, glyphosate is still used for economic reasons. As a result, the characters are determined by the environment in which they live, making poisoning impossible to avoid.