An essay by renowned speculative fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin that challenges the idea that stories must be built around the narrative of a ‘hero’ figure or achievement.

‘Le Guin argues that the truer story can be represented better as a carrier bag, an ongoing gathering-up and letting-go, rather than the classic “man vs. x” narrative scaffold. But her essay is not just about rethinking fiction; it’s about rethinking the human story itself, rethinking the “Ascent of Man” and that which will follow.’

– Anna Hundert, ‘A Carrier Bag Theory of Revolution’, 2022

The essay builds off of the ‘Carrier Bag Theory of evolution’, coined by anthropologist Elizabeth Fisher in the 70s, which dictates that early humans’ primary tool or ‘cultural device’ was not weaponry, but rather the containers they used to carry food from the place it was found to the home.