The Windup Girl: an Allegory for Modern-Day Environmental Issues

Paolo Bacigalupi’s novel The Windup Girl represents an allegory for modern day environmental issues, particularly in the Global South. While the novel falls under the genre of science fiction, there is something frighteningly real about the world that Bacigalupi creates in the novel. With the depletion of carbon fuel sources, the acceleration of climate change, and genetic engineering running rampant, Bacigalupi envisions a world in which environmental issues control every facet of life. Much like reality, the novel portrays high incidences of governmental corruption in the Global South, one such incidence being the kidnapping and subsequent murdering of Jaidee’s wife by the “white shirts.” From an allegorical standpoint, the white shirts represent corrupt governments in the Global South that exploit their citizens solely for material gain. The white shirts act as an important arm of the Environment Ministry and show the reader just how much of life is controlled by the novel’s current state of the environment. The world that Bacigalupi creates may seem fictional—but such a world is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Should environmental issues persist as they are, such a world may not be that far off from reality.

The environmental issues we face are far more serious than they appear. While issues such as climate change and ozone depletion have certainly rose to the forefront in recent years, the threats that these issue pose seem to occur more “under the radar” than we would expect. Climate change is an issue that magnifies slowly over time; its effects are not felt immediately but rather far into the future. It is easy to write off such an issue when its impacts do not occur all at once, and as such, the environment does not play as strong a role in our lives as it should. Bacigalupi defies this logic and suggests that by the 23^rd century, environmental issues may control all aspects of our lives—especially those living in the Global South. We can infer that Bacigalupi sees environmental issues as much more pertinent in the developing world than in the developed world, as demonstrated by his choice to set the novel in Thailand. While the world that he creates may seem to be a bit farfetched, such possibilities are not entirely fictional, and we may soon realize this truth if we continue degrading the environment as we are.

Humanity may face a grim future if we do not reverse the impacts we have had on the environment. Bacigalupi agrees with this fact. One key aspect of the world that he envisions is the importance of energy as a driving force in society. Companies such as AgriGen, PurCal, and RedStar control gigajoules of energy and are known as “calorie companies.” It is interesting that Bacigalupi chose to name these entities “calorie companies” and not merely “energy companies.” Calories represent units of energy found in the food that we eat. In that way, Bacigalupi draws a comparison between food and energy. In essence, he suggests that in the future, energy could become synonymous with food. We need food to survive; could energy become as important a need as food in the near future? Using this connection, Bacigalupi shows us how environmental issues may come to control every aspect of our lives should we continue to degrade the environment as we are.

I would like to conclude by stating that the world Bacigalupi envisions is not by any means impossible. The environmental issues we face are serious and they are far-reaching. They will not be solved quickly or easily. Climate change threatens coastal communities via sea level rise, air pollution tarnishes the air we breathe, and ozone depletion threatens public health via increasing skin cancer rates. The current dwindling of energy supplies has left us wondering where we will turn when fossil fuels run out. With such serious issues on our hands, we simply cannot conclude that this fictional world will never become a reality. While environmental issues do not yet control every aspect of our lives, Bacigalupi sees a future where they will. We can only hope that the work we do today will somehow manage to prevent total catastrophe before it is too late.