“You needed new feelings”: The Affective Work of the Neoliberal Short Story

The article delves into the relationship between neoliberalism, affectivity, and the short story genre, focusing on two contemporary works: Steven Millhauser’s “The Next Thing” and George Saunders’s “The Semplica Girl Diaries.” It explores how societal transformation under neoliberalism impacts individuals’ emotional experiences, particularly in the short story format. The article also investigates the potential association of specific genres with particular emotions, referencing affect theorist Sianne Ngai’s views on emotion determining literary kinds. It argues that the short story genre, with its emphasis on affective loops and leaps, is well-suited to scrutinize and provoke disruptive emotions. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s concept of affective communities, the article furthermore explores how narrative objects become “sticky” with affect, shaping emotional responses within the narrative. In conclusion, the article links the short story genre, exemplified by “The Semplica Girl Diaries,” to the notion of “cruel optimism” as proposed by Lauren Berlant. Overall, the article navigates through literary examples to argue that the short story genre, in its brevity and intensity, serves as a potent medium to explore and critique the affective dimensions of societal transformation under neoliberalism. The chosen stories, through their nuanced portrayals of emotions and objects, contribute to the broader discourse on the emotional landscape of contemporary literature.