RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article T1 “None of Them Knows About Floods or Anything About the Rivers:” Monstrous Kinships and Agency in Michael McDowell’s The Flood and The Levee T2 “Ninguno de ellos sabe sobre inundaciones o sobre ríos”: parentescos monstruosos y agencialidad en The Flood and the Levee de Michael McDowell A1 Calio, Gianluca K1 New Materialism K1 Kinship K1 Agency K1 Southern Gothic K1 Hybridity AB This paper explores the disruption of the human/non-human binary in Michael McDowell’sBlackwater series, focusing on how the character of Elinor Dammert challenges traditionaldistinctions between humans and environment. Set in the Southern Gothic landscape ofLower Alabama, the analysis scrutinizes Elinor’s relationship with the region’s fluvial environ-ment, emphasizing her role as a complex, shape-shifting gothic figure. Emerging mysteriouslyfrom the river after a flood, Elinor’s actions reflect a deep connection with both the humanand non-human worlds, as she intervenes against anthropogenic alterations, particularly de-forestation and proposed hydrogeological projects. By highlighting Elinor’s efforts to disruptdestructive human practices, the paper argues that her character can be seen as attemptingto create kinship between humans and the landscape of Perdido, embodying an ecoGothicfigure that transcends moral binaries. Elinor’s interventions will therefore reveal an alternativeform of ecological agency that emphasizes kin-making rather than domination or revenge. PB Servicio de Publicaciones, Universidad de La Laguna SN e-2530-8335 YR 2024 FD 2024 LK http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39784 UL http://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/39784 LA en DS Repositorio institucional de la Universidad de La Laguna RD 23-nov-2024