60 pages • 2 hours read
Naomi AldermanThe Future
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Lai Zhen
Zhen is the hero of the novel. While Martha appoints herself the moral arbiter of the apocalypse, Zhen is swept along and caught up in Martha’s plans. Her tragic background—losing her mother as a child, and interned in a refugee camp for years—prepares her for the survival role she expertly plays. By choosing to support the hoax concocted by Martha and her cohort, Zhen actively commits to—and sacrifices herself for—the betterment of the planet and humankind.
When Zhen is introduced, she is all hustle: “Zhen was thirty-three years old, and an increasingly survival-focused world of constantly unfolding crises was eager for what she had to offer” (25). From the beginning, Zhen separates herself from the other survivalists in the novel. Of the Enochites, for example, Zhen notes that “they were survivalist adjacent but not her brand of tech survivalism” (65). In contrast to Lenk Sketlish, the most extreme survivalist among the CEOs, Zhen believes “survival had always included more banding together than murdering” (46).
Most characters in the book see the future as a source of opportunities, whether for profit or positive change. For Zhen, however, thinking of the future induces anxiety: “She could always see a thing in her mind right through to the hideous conclusion […]. She was always heavy with the future, her inner nets filled with the glittering glut of possibility” (84). This is clearly the result of her traumatic experiences, which are compounded by the fact that she is being hunted through the first part of the novel. Zhen begins to feel herself falling apart: “She felt herself pulling into pieces, discrete units of self that could bear the news and do what was needed to carry on” (232). This fragmentation aligns her with Martha.
Still, Martha “survives” the apocalypse by taking over Fantail as CEO, while Zhen languishes, alone, on a nearly deserted island for three years. She will even allow her leg to be cut off—like an animal gnawing its leg off when caught in a trap—rather than allow herself to be Lenk’s prey. Zhen will go to great lengths (of bravery, of self-sacrifice) for survival. When Albert cajoles her into going along with their faux apocalypse, he tells her, “You’re a survivalist. You could help save the world? And the weather on that island is incredible” (402). It is fortunate for him, and especially for Martha, that Zhen agrees and maintains her silence.
Martha Einkorn
In contrast to Zhen, Martha associates with the wealthy and powerful regularly. She is privy to the interactions and decision-making processes of the billionaires who increasingly control the flow of information and resources across the planet. She therefore has a keen awareness of how these decisions are impacting the planet and humankind. Because of her background—she was raised by a self-proclaimed prophet and cult leader—Martha can envision a different kind of world, and she possesses the skillset to make her vision a reality.
However, her background has also made her suspicious of others: She “had only recently understood that her prolific online-forum habit and her working relationships—as intense and engaging as these things were—were no substitutes for real trust” (38). While she is close to her boss, Lenk Sketlish, she does not share many of his values, and she does not trust his business instincts or profit-driven motives. Her other social outlet, posting as OneCorn on the Name The Day survivalist forum, leads to a friendship with Albert Dabrowski, who also posts on the forum. Their circle eventually expands to include the disaffected wife of Zimri Nommik and the rebellious child of Ellen Bywater, and together they perpetrate an elaborate hoax. For Martha, this also represents a channel for her own needs: She says, “I am never going to know how to live without a community of purpose” (221). Her history with the Enochites has given her both a sense of purpose and a clear set of moral guidelines—even though she claims to have left them behind.
In fact, Martha mimics her father, Enoch, in many ways. She not only amasses followers to execute her plan to simulate an apocalypse, but she also has followers of her posts as OneCorn. On the other hand, this presents a slippery slope toward prophethood and leadership; her posts as OneCorn are designed to inculcate certain beliefs in others, a return to simplicity and nature. In one of her responses to another user, she writes, “If you want to hear more from me you can always…follow me” (268). In addition, some of Martha’s condemnation of the CEOs is certainly ironic, if not hypocritical: “The end of the world is only hastened by those who think they will be able to protect their own from the coming storm” (363). This is an oblique reference to the CEOs and their well-stocked bunkers. However, Martha provides her lover, Zhen, with AUGR, and a way out, so they can eventually be reunited. It remains ambiguous whether Martha’s actions are truly benevolent or justified. She may have made the world a better place for a time, but ultimately, what saves her is Zhen’s grace. Zhen forgives her, and Martha surrenders to love.
