Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel

Sangita Patil

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9780429516696
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism for Comparative Literature
• Index: Literature

Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel tests the theories of ecofeminism against the background of India's often different perceptions of environmental problems, challenging the hegemony of Western culture in thinking about human problems. This book moves beyond a simple application of the concepts of ecofeminism, instead explaining the uniqueness of Indian novels as narratives of ecofeminism and how they can contribute to the development of the theory of ecofeminism.

In examining a selection of novels, the author argues that Indian texts conceptualize the ecological crisis more as a human problem than as a gender problem. The book proposes that we should think of ecofeminism as ecohumanism instead, seeing human beings and nature as a part of a complex web. Novels analysed within the text include Kamala Markandaya's Nectar in a Sieve (1954), Shivram Karanth's Return to Earth (2002) and Na D'Souza's Dweepa (2013).

Ecofeminism and the Indian Novel will be of great interest to students and scholars of ecofeminism, ecocriticism, ecological feminism, environmental humanities, gender studies, ecological humanities, feminist studies and Indian literature.

1
An interface between human beings and nature

1.1 Introduction

The aim of the book, as stated in the introductory chapter, is to examine the ecofeminist discourse in Indian context through the Indian literary narratives. To pursue this aim, it is very crucial to understand the theory of ecofeminism, its historical evolution and basic tenets. Therefore, this chapter is mainly to formulate a theoretical framework to read Indian novels by giving an illuminating sketch of the theory of ecofeminism as postulated by seminal ecofeminists. To this end, this chapter presents the genealogy of ecofeminism, the genealogy of the Indian novel, the discursive formation of the environmental narration in Indian novels and in polemical discourse.

1.2 The genealogy of ecofeminism

In order to have a comprehensive understanding of ecofeminism, we need to understand the term ‘ecology,’ which has been derived from two Greek words oikos and logos; oikos means ‘house’ or ‘place to live in’ and logos means ‘study’ (Haeckel 1866). Therefore, ecology is a study of interrelationship between all living organisms and their environment. Reiter coined the term ‘ecology’ in 1868. The traditional definition of ecology is “the study of reciprocal relationships between organisms and their environment.” Ernest Haeckel (1866), a German biologist, introduced the meaning of ‘ecology’ defined as: “the total relation of the animal to both its organic and its inorganic environment.” Further, Eugene Odum (1953, 1996) expounds it as “the study of the structure and function of ecosystems or structure and function of nature.” The Indian ecologist R. Mishra’s (1967) definition of ecology is “interactions of forms, functions and factors.”

The reciprocal relationship between human beings and their environment is gradually disrupted by consumerism, industrialisation and scientific revolution, which lead to environmental crisis. This crisis has given way to many studies, philosophies and theories to solve environmental problems. In 1972, Arne Nass, a Norwegian philosopher, coined two terms: ‘deep ecology’ and ‘ecosophy’, which have been introduced to environmental literature. Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy and a movement that states that human beings and non-human beings have intrinsic value and we are not able to separate human beings from natural environment. Ecosophy is a philosophy of ecological harmony and equilibrium within human beings and nature. Along with these two concepts, a few more terms have been introduced to environmental literature; one, Shallow Ecology, which is anthropocentric and considers nature as instrumental, and two, Ecological Marxism, which emphasises the need to restructure modern production conditions. New Positional Ecology focuses on “locality-based studies of people insertion with their environments” (Goldman & Schurman 2000:568). Next, Theodore Roszak used a new neologism ecopsychology, in his book The Voice of the Earth (1993), which tries to locate the relationship between human beings and the natural world through ecological and psychological principles.

Further, we also need to pay attention to the development of a critical practice called Ecocriticism. The term ecocriticism was first used by William Rueckert (1978) in his article ‘Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism’ in order to create an awareness of environmental crisis through literary genre. Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm’s book The Eco-Criticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (1996) played an instrumental role in accepting ecocriticism as a literary theory. Cheryll Glotfelty, in his introduction to the book, defines ecocriticism as ‘the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment’ (xviii). Another seminal writer, Lawrence Buell has contributed to the growth of ecocriticism as a literary discipline through his book, Writing for Endangered World (2001). His work, The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing and the Formation of American Culture (1995), highlights Henry David Thoreau’s concern for nature. Thoreau’s writings reflect on nature-centric life; he was in search of an alternative natural mode of living to replace modern lifestyle. The Japanese agriculturalist and philosopher, Masanobu Fukuoka’s, One Straw Revolution (1975), a book on natural farming, attempts to show the link among literature, philosophy, agriculture and environmental issues. Rachel Carson’s epoch-making book Silent Spring (1963) is a critical introduction to the field of ecocriticism. It discusses the impact of pesticides on birds and nature. Bate’s more recent book The Song of the Earth (2000) argues that colonialism and deforestation have frequently gone together for the destruction of nature at its extent (Barry 162). Further, the most important contribution to this field is by Greg Garrard, who in his seminal work Ecocriticism (2004), says ecocriticism means ‘ecological literacy.’ He very aptly defines, “Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship of the human and non-human, throughout human cultural history and entailing critical analysis of the term ‘human’ itself.” He further espouses, “Developing the insights of earlier critical movements, ecofeminists, social ecologists and environmental justice advocates seek a synthesis of environmental and social concerns” (Garrard 2004:3, 5).

Even Richard Kerridge’s definition of ecocriticism, in his monumental work Writing the Environment (1998), is parallel to Cheryll Glotfelty’s definition, “The ecocritic wants to track environmental ideas and representations wherever they appear, to see more clearly a debate which seems to be taking place, often part concealed, in a great many cultural spaces. Most of all, ecocriticism seeks to evaluate texts and ideas in terms of their coherence and usefulness as responses to environmental crisis” (Kerridge 1998:5).

Ecological crises has given birth to a seminal theory called as ecofeminism. Ecofeminism, one of the upcoming monumental movements, addresses the exploitation of women and nature. Ecofeminism, an umbrella term, focuses on the philosophical, practical and analytical study of exploitation of women and nature. It is a new approach to feminism and environmentalism. Ecofeminism is a study of exploitation of both women and nature and their liberation. Ecofeminism is a portmanteau – ecology and feminism. Ecology refers to the scientific study of living organisms and their relationship with each other in the natural environment. It is concerned with the study of the effect of civilisation on environment and the need to conserve nature by preventing its exploitation by human beings (Mishra 2008). On the other hand, feminist theories have emerged from feminist movements and their basic purpose is to understand gender inequality and to focus on gender politics, power relations and sexuality (Abrams 2009). Thus, feminists study reasons for exploitation and marginalisation of women and environmentalists study reasons for the exploitation of nature. In their endeavour to find answers to their question – who or what is the root cause of the exploitation of woman and nature? – ecofeminists find their answer in patriarchal development attitude. Therefore, the common enemy for ecocritics and feminists is the powerful gender, the man. The ultimate goal of both these movements is to liberate their respective subjects, that is, women and nature from the patriarchal power relationship. It is not just an intellectual enterprise. It is through and through a socio-political movement. It has stemmed out of various academic endeavours and activist movements against the destruction of environment across the globe with the diagnostic focus on women and nature. Ecofeminism, as a movement, is an outcome of the ecological crisis brought about by industrialisation, modernisation and the growth of market culture.

The concern of women towards ecology and nature has been noted in all cultures around the world. Women and ecology, thus, seem to be intertwined. These aspects have strongly influenced the birth of ecofeminism. Ecofeminism was coined by French writer Francoise d’Eaubonne in 1974 in her path-breaking work Le Féminisme ou la mort. Her fundamental intention was to give a call to women to save the planet. Further, ecofeminism has been established as a movement, where women are protesters, held academic activities and activist movements against environmental destruction. Ynestra King, an ecofeminist theorist, developed the concept further by organising a conference. The melting down of Three Mile Island alerted a number of women in the USA to contemplate the situation and gather for the first ecofeminist conference entitled “Women and Life on Earth: A Conference on Ecofeminism in the Eighties,” in March 1980, at Amherst. The other significant conferences on ecofeminism are “Ecofeminist Perspectives: Culture, Nature, Theory” in March 1987 at the University of Southern California, the international political conferences sponsored by the UN and international NGOs such as the conference on women “UN’s Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Assembly and the Environment,” which was held in Nairobi in 1985. And the “World Women’s Congress for a Healthy Planet,” held in 1991 in Miami, not only brought ecofeminists on one platform but also focused exclusively on environmental and women issues (Hobgood-Oster 2005).

In addition to these conferences, numerous protests by women against ecological destruction and deterioration were also held. The notable among such protests are: the first women protest action was Women’s Pentagon Action in United States (Carlassare 1994:220), the peasant women protest against the proposed construction of the nuclear power plant at Whyl in South West Germany, the protest against chalk mining and logging in the Himalayas that is Chipko movement, the Green Belt Movement in Kenya, the protest by the Japanese women against chemically stimulated food and commercial agriculture asking for self-reliant producer-consumer networks, poor women’s efforts in Ecuador to save the mangrove forests as breeding-grounds for fish and shrimp, the battle of thousands of women in the South for better water management, soil conservation, land use and maintenance of their survival base against the industrial interests, Medha Patkar’s fight against the construction of Narmada Dam, Lois Gibbs’ opposition to the dumping of toxic waste in Love Canal, Joan Sharp’s struggle to close the Schlage Lock Company in North Carolina, United States, which was responsible for the death of 30 women due to cancer and the protest by Russian women against the Chernobyl catastrophe (Mies & Shiva 4). Another example of women-led protest is women’s peace camp against operating and testing nuclear cruise missiles at Greenham common in England (Gaard 2011:29). These protests to save the planet for future generations have provided a good platform for ecofeminism to gain currency as a movement. These socio-economic movements do not occur without the support of ideas. Ideas and ideals have changed this world. Behind the movement of ecofeminism, there is a strong foundation of polemical thought on ecological and feministic problems. To analyse Indian novels from the perspective of ecofeminism, we need to understand polemical intricacies of the ecofeminist discourse. The disparity compels us to do a systematic study of the major ecofeminists’ perspectives in order to get a coherent general framework. Later, many ecofeminists added their perspectives and concerns to ecofeminism to establish it as a theory.

This dual theoretical enterprise draws our attention to the patriarchal violence done to both women and nature in the name of development of science and technology, modernisation and globalisation. Thus, ecofeminism has been emphasising the exploitation of women and nature on the basis of a subtle connection between the two. Therefore, let us examine the close association and the subtle connection between women and nature.

The term ecofeminism may raise a question: how are the two very different disciplines ecology and feminism brought together under one term, ecofeminism? What exactly is the connection between women and nature? To answer these questions, it is quite necessary to understand the logic behind the creation of this portmanteau term. Let us examine a theoretical perspective that makes three claims – empirical, conceptual and epistemological – in order to show the connection between women and nature (Eaton & Lorentzen 2003; Warren 1996).

The first empirical claim shows that the first-hand victims of t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction: ecofeminism and the Indian novel
• 1 An interface between human beings and nature
• 2 Narratives of agriculture: Nectar in a Sieve, The Upheaval, Return to Earth and Gift in Green
• 3 Dam construction and ecological crisis: The Coffer Dams and Dweepa
• 4 The industrial disaster: Animal’s People
• 5 Animals as absent referents: The Man from Chinnamasta
• 6 Reconceptualising ecofeminism: from ecofeminism to ecohumanism
• Index