This project seeks to understand the ephemeral rise and fall of the subgenre dubbed "hysterical realism" by literary critic James Wood in response to "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith. What was it about the late 1990s and early 2000s that inspired such hysteria? And why did the genre disappear at a time when we, as a society, arguably face more hysteria than ever? This work analyzes the sociopolitical and historical contexts of the genre and its disappearance, suggesting reasons for its popularity and decline. Building off of Wood's critique, this project proposes a critical counterargument to Wood's plea for a "return to feeling," using the novel "My Year of Rest and Relaxation" by Ottessa Moshfegh as a foil to the hysterical realism genre and a prime example of why a "return to feeling" does not work under global capitalism and neoliberalism. Overall, this project contributes to the larger scholarship of postmodernism in literary studies. 

Amanda would like to thank her thesis advisor, Dr. Rachel Greenwald Smith, for all of their invaluable help this past year (with both this project and graduate school applications).