Agentive Sun: A New Materialist View of Nature-Technology Interactions in Klara and the Sun

Abstract

This paper explores the role of the sun as a symbol of agentive force in Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun through the lens of new materialism. By examining Klara, an advanced AI “Artificial Friend,” and her relationship with the sun, the paper demonstrates how the sun represents natural energy and interacts with technological materiality, specifically Klara’s artificial body. The analysis reveals how the sun’s agentive power influences Klara’s behavior and emotions, highlighting the complex interactions between nature and technology. This study argues that the novel challenges traditional binaries between nature and technology and proposing that ethical responsibility should be distributed across a network of human and non-human agents, suggesting a more integrated understanding of human and non-human materialities.