'Vermin, not animals': hygiene, modernism, and the verminous

The turn in modernist studies towards the nonhuman has proved one of the most productive and provocative lines of enquiry in the field today. A cast of recognisable modernist animals has emerged, from Bloom’s cat to the floating menageries of Marc Chagall. In many studies, however, verminous creatures are conspicuously absent. Whilst there are notable examples of modernist vermin, perhaps the most famous being Gregor Samsa of Kafka’s 'The Metamorphosis' (1915), a specific focus on “the verminous” and its meaning in modernist culture is rarely dwelt upon. This is unusual considering the sheer ubiquity of vermin in the period: newspapers abound with advertisements for the latest pest control products and services, poets describe the vicious war waged against lice in the trenches, city-dwellers describe living cheek by jowl with rats, cockroaches, and bedbugs. This paper will situate vermin within modernist culture, exploring the hygienic and social conceptions of vermin in the period and how a discussion of vermin can enrich our understanding of the “modernist animal”.