53 pages • 1 hour read
More Than This
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Background
Literary Context: Speculative Fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre that encompasses works of fantasy, science-fiction, dystopian fiction, and other stories taking place in an imagined or futuristic world. Although the term “speculative fiction” dates from the 20th century, many historical works of literature can be categorized as such based on genre characteristics or their author’s stated intentions, including Euripides’s Hippolytus (428 BC), William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (c. 1595), J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series (1937-1949), or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985).
More Than This is more specifically science-fiction, because it includes technologically futuristic elements such as the hyper-realistic online world, the robotic Driver, and the life-support “coffins.” The story also appears to take place in an imagined future, since Seth’s family initially live in a realistic version of England while the Earth is undergoing catastrophic natural disasters and economic collapse. These elements are often found in dystopian fiction, also a genre of speculative fiction, which is often concerned with the evolution of a society after cataclysmic events.
Ness’s narrative is also imbued with philosophical undertones that make it more allegorical than most science-fiction. Allegories are often used to explore philosophical concepts and questions about society or the world. The narrative’s exploration of The Nature of Reality and Life and Death lend themselves to allegorical symbolism, most notably in the use of the Coffins as gateways between the two worlds. Finally, the novel’s Open Ending reinforces its allegorical aspect by leaving the story and The Nature of Reality open to interpretation, which encourages critical thinking in ways typically associated with philosophical texts.
Cultural Context: Mental Health and Suicide Awareness
More Than This explores themes of mental health, including the protagonist’s death(s) by suicide. Seth drowns himself in the online world and later attempts to run off a cliff in the real world before Regine and Tomasz intervene. Both passages are depicted in detail and Seth’s desire to die is made clear over the course of the novel.
Seth’s mental health impacts his actions and character development throughout the narrative. When he first wakes up in his childhood home, he believes that he is in “a hell built exactly for him” (20) because he feels trapped in his worst memory. This leads him to believe that Regine and Tomasz are figments of his imagination, causing him to doubt reality and his own perception. Over the course of the story, Seth grows to trust his friends and realizes that there is more to the world than his own limited perception; there is “more than this” to the world beyond his narrow scope as a teenager.
The notion that there is “more than this” is central to the narrative. The phrase is repeated by several characters throughout the novel, such as when Gudmund encourages Seth to stay hopeful about their future: “There’s more than this, Sethy [....]. This sucks beyond belief, but there’s more. We just have to get there” (133), or when Regine pushes him to think beyond his limited worldview: “Well, there’s always more than this. There’s always something you don’t know” (310). This recurring phrase illustrates Seth’s mental health condition; his feelings of loneliness and desperation are compounded by his guilt over his brother’s death and his parents’ emotional neglect. Those emotions are exacerbated when his relationship with Gudmund is made public and Seth endures harassment and bullying from his former friends due to his sexuality. Seth is driven to believe that “the one good thing that was [his] wasn’t [entirely his]” (366) when he learns that Gudmund was also sleeping with Monica. Believing that he has lost any claim to Gudmund pushes him over the edge; Seth cannot see anything “more” beyond Gudmund.
Over the course of the novel, Seth goes from feeling utterly alone and like he has lost everything he cares about, to finding hope again through human connection and realizing that life goes on beyond his limited perception of it.
Please note that the novel offers detailed depictions of suicide ideation and suicide attempts, and mental health is a central part of the protagonist’s character development. Below are resources for suicide prevention and mental health awareness, particularly for LGBTQ+ youth who may experience the same social isolation and bullying that impacts Seth Wearing’s mental health.
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