Severance

Shen Fever, the disease which dooms its victims to repeat routines until they die, is the central symbol of the novel. Shen Fever is used as a metaphor for the anesthetic routines of life under capitalism.

In a capitalist society, almost everyone enacts a common ritual, the workday. No matter the varying details of the job, most of the day is spent giving labor in exchange for money that buys stability, safety, and comfort. Most workers cannot just choose to stop working and accept that work will take up most of adult life. Weekends and holidays become end goals, as workers often put off enjoyment until anticipated breaks in routine. Just “getting through the work day” on autopilot is a common approach. But as Ruifang says to Candace, “what you do every day matters,” (63) and the repetition of unfulfilling days eventually adds up to a lifetime of unfulfillment.

Shen Fever exposes the absurdity of modern work culture. Its victims are stuck in micro-loops, repeating small parts of their daily routines ad infinitum until they literally rot. It’s a dramatized mockery of the workday phenomenon, an inescapable dance of repetition that numbs the mind and eventually drains away life.

The line between a Shen Fever victim and a “workaholic” like Candace is so blurred that at one point, she wonders herself if she might be fevered. After their deaths, some of the fevered repeat the tasks they remember from their jobs, serving nonexistent customers or endlessly folding T-shirts. Candace acts exactly like this, going in to work in an empty office long after everybody else has left. The ultimate pointlessness of the working day routine is highlighted by these images of characters repeating rote tasks, helping no one and accomplishing nothing of value.

Through the motif of Shen Fever’s zombified rituals, the narrative questions how much of time is given up to work. While the system cannot be changed overnight, a more active role in daily life can be taken.