← Back to Concept Index

disease-of-listlessness

A metaphorical condition describing extreme fatigue and existential inertia affecting people who feel their lives lack purpose or activity.

1 chapter across 1 book

Silent All These Years (1992)Tori Amos

Chapter 2

The narrator wakes up exhausted and struggles with lethargy and a pervasive sense of disconnection, reflecting on a societal condition described as a disease of listlessness affecting entire Neighbourhoods. After a long effort to answer a persistent phone call from Zenda, a contact in the high-energy Action Centre, the narrator is urged to prepare quickly for a meeting, highlighting the contrast between their own fatigue and the relentless productivity demanded by the Actioneers. The chapter explores the narrator's navigation through a city divided into specialized Neighbourhoods, emphasizing themes of identity, societal roles, and the pressures of constant activity.