A guide to "a world to come" Nature, Care and Postgenderism in McCarthy's The Road and Hegland's Into The Forest

In the twenty-first century, humans and corporations exploiting nature for their own benefits have caused long-lasting impacts on the planet. Therefore, concerns about the end of the modern civilization have crystalized around environmental collapses. This dissertation analyzes how Hegland’s Into The Forest and McCarthy’s The Road explore different futures for humankind and reshape concepts such as human, nature, care and gender. The first chapter considers the growing success of novels picturing an altered future. The second section analyzes how both novels engage in creative ways with the Anthropocene, the New Age of Human. The third chapter of this dissertation focuses on the new Ethics of Care developed by the characters to survive in times of scarcity. Finally, reading through the lens of gender, the last chapter analyzes how the two novels imagine gender roles in alternative ways and engage with postgenderism.