The Exploitation of Women and Nature: An Ecofeminist Study of Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye

Ecofeminism has gained a significant amount of popularity in the recent years. In essence, ecofeminism is the intersection of feminism and ecology. Historically, women have been identified with nature and men with culture and civilization. In a way, patriarchy categorized women and nature as the “other”. This research intends to compare two novels namely Surfacing by Margaret Atwood and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison regarding their ecofeminist elements. Primarily, the researcher will demonstrate in what ways the lives of the protagonists and nature are intertwined. Both novels discuss the oppression of women and nature. In the first novel, colonialism and patriarchy are defined as the causes of subjugation. In the second novel patriarchy, racial and interracial oppression are the causes of female oppression. Since, female protagonists of the selected novels are of different races, the researcher will study the connections between race and gender as well. While the white protagonist in Surfacing is exposed to colonial and white male exploitation, the black protagonist in The Bluest Eye is subject to oppression not only by black men but also white men, women and even children duo to her age, race and gender.

کلیدواژه ها:

Ecofeminism ، Patriarchy ، Nature ، Development ، Race ، Gender ، Colonialism.