Elfriede Jelinek's 'Unter Tieren' Uses Animals to Critique Capitalism

Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek's new prose work "Unter Tieren" (Among Animals) features a cow, bear, fox, and pig reflecting on capitalism and war. The text draws parallels between slaughterhouses and financial capitalism, with animals lamenting the commodification of their bodies. A dove notes: "They take our poor toes away too, many of us limp terribly." Pigs are told to "examine themselves now, saving the vet." The narrative extends to refugees, stating: "No one should get over [the fences], not even someone who becomes a human again, and we have enough humans." The work is published as a prose volume, with more in the current issue of Der Freitag.