McCarthy’s Magical Math: Toposes and Textual Interpretation in <i>The Passenger</i> and <i>Stella Maris</i>

ABSTRACT This article focuses on how McCarthy’s interests in mathematics and science are translated to the page in The Passenger and Stella Maris. This article argues that McCarthy’s use of topos theory as a ground for the discussions of math and physics in The Passenger and Stella Maris is critical to understanding the entangled relationship between Alicia and Bobby, as well as our relationship to the world in which we live. Topos theory offers readers a new way to read and understand the novels that goes beyond traditional literary criticism. McCarthy’s use of topos theory offers an explanation for the dyadic structure of The Passenger and Stella Maris as well as alternate strategies for reading the novels.