Tender Is the Flesh

Tender Is the Flesh is an example of dystopian fiction. The word dystopia, which is Greek for “bad place,” developed as an antonym for utopia, which refers to an idealized, imaginary society. Well-known examples of dystopian fiction include George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which investigates totalitarianism and mass surveillance; Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (1932), which examines social conditioning; Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1953), which deals with censorship; and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), which depicts life under a patriarchal theocracy. Tender Is the Flesh shares several key genre characteristics with these examples.

First, the novel draws attention to the way that large-scale social institutions shape individual lives. This may involve government, business, religion, or, in the case of Tender Is the Flesh, all three. The legitimization of cannibalism takes place against the backdrop of a capitalistic society supervised by a government that caters to the whims of big business. Meanwhile, the Church of the Immolation carves out a unique niche, allowing individuals to exercise their supposed right to submit themselves for others’ consumption. Through the combined effects of these and other forces, characters such as Marisa and even Tejo are shown to gradually lose their agency and individuality over time. Even if, in the end, Tejo manages to escape punishment for his crime of sleeping with a woman raised as livestock, the victory is a hollow one, showing his moral decline. A bleak view of human nature is another hallmark of dystopian fiction.

A second key trait of dystopian fiction involves disaster leading to undesirable social changes, which may take place before the novel’s main action begins. In this case, a virus transforms all animals into potential threats. Rather than leading people to unite in seeking solutions, the result is a collapse and restructuring of society that further pits people against nature and each other. A related aspect of dystopian fiction is the presence of a big lie perpetuated through propaganda. Throughout the novel, it is hinted but never confirmed that the virus that initiated the transition to cannibalism is a lie perpetuated by governments and the media. Various characters speculate that such a policy allows the government to manage population, crime, poverty, and more. Following in the footsteps of Orwell and others, Bazterrica explores the fraught relationship between language and perception. Limiting speech tends to limit thought over time. However, excessive restrictions can also spark rebellion.

Third, through techniques such as exaggeration and distortion, dystopian fiction typically offers grim social commentary with real-world parallels, and Tender Is the Flesh is no exception. Bazterrica’s depiction of humans raised and slaughtered as livestock is a powerful thought experiment about the ethics of meat consumption; perhaps unsurprisingly, Bazterrica is vegetarian. Additionally, her attention to the way that sexual politics play out in such situations points to broader concerns about misogyny. Finally, her portrayal of the economic pressures that motivate individuals to act in ways that contradict their values and beliefs is a critique of capitalism.