The secret and The Circle : Georg Simmel's social theory and Dave Eggers' dystopian fiction.

This article examines Dave Eggers' 2013 dystopian novel *The Circle* through the lens of Georg Simmel's social theory, particularly his writings on secrecy, social distance, and the intersection of social circles. It argues that Simmel’s concepts illuminate key aspects of digital surveillance and secrecy depicted in *The Circle*, including the secret’s role in individuality and social relations, and reframes the estranging effect of dystopias via Simmel’s notion of the “stranger,” which embodies paradoxical closeness and remoteness. Conversely, *The Circle* extends Simmel’s theory by exploring contemporary digital intimacies between people and their technologies and by employing literary devices that critically engage with social subjectivity. The article further critiques dominant literary-formalist approaches to dystopian fiction, proposing that speculative dystopias like *The Circle* combine formal narrative techniques with sociologically grounded content to offer valuable insights into present and future social realities.