Survival might be insufficient, she'd told Dieter in late-night arguments, but on the other hand, so was Shakespeare. He'd trotted out his usual arguments, about how Shakespeare had lived in a plague-ridden society with no electricity and so did the Traveling Symphony. But look, she'd told him, the difference was that they'd seen electricity, they'd seen everything, they'd watched a civilization collapse, and Shakespeare hadn't. In Shakespeare's time the wonders of technology were still ahead, not behind them, and far less had been lost.
The discussion between the characters reveals a deeper philosophical divide regarding the value of survival and artistic expression in a post-apocalyptic world. One character argues that mere survival isn't enough to justify life; it lacks the richness that art and culture provide. This brings into question the relevance of Shakespeare's works in a contemporary setting ravaged by loss, highlighting the stark contrast between their past experiences with technology and the emptiness...
