Ecocriticism & Ecofeminism

Welcome readers!

ECOCRITICISM

and

 ECOFEMINISM

“A mangrove forest is a universe unto itself, utterly unlike other woodlands or jungles. There are no towering, vine-looped trees, no ferns, no wildflowers, no chattering monkeys or cockatoos. Mangrove leaves are tough and leathery, the branches gnarled and the foliage often impassably dense. Visibility is short and the air still and fetid. At no moment can human beings have any doubt of the terrain’s hostility to their presence, of its cunning and resourcefulness, of its determination to destroy or expel them. Every year, dozens of people perish in the embrace of that dense foliage, killed by tigers, snakes and crocodiles.”

Let’s be thoughtful for some time…read this paragraph and try to analyze it...ponder on the points like

How nature particularly ecology is portrayed in these lines?

Is it trying to show the best side of ecology and physical world or the worst of it?

Is it the effect of culture upon nature or nature upon culture?

The very first line seems to provide us a positive image of nature which perhaps the last line breaks that construction of our thinking like a human being. Well, these lines are from a book (Amitav Ghosh’s ‘The Hungry Tide’) which shows the relationship between literature and ecology with a critical point of view. 

Ghosh through these lines not only glorifies Nature but also presents the destructive sides of Nature. The way it sometimes is appealing, it is also thirsty in the same manner for human blood. 

Well, this blog post is a thinking activity assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad Sir on Ecocriticism and Ecofeminism as a literary theory. Click on the link to read sir's blog titled 'Ecofeminism in Mass Media Imagery'. 

First of all, have a look at this picture which clarifies the major difference between a balanced ecological system and an unbalanced ecological system. So, what is ecology on the first hand? 

According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 

“Ecology is the branch of biology that deals with relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.”

Now let us explore the major theories-

The theory of ‘Ecocriticism’-

M. H. Abrams in his ‘A Glossary of Literary Terms’ defines-

“Ecocriticism designates critical writings that explore the relations between literature and the biological and physical environment, conducted with an acute awareness of the damage being wrought on that environment by human activities.”

Ecofeminism-

Ecofeminism: an attempt to outline a new utopian horizon, addressing the environmental issue from the categories of patriarchy, androcentrism, care, sexism, and gender.

Illustration- Moana