SYNOPSIS

Ecofeminism: An Ambivalent Relationship between Women and Nature in Selected

Novels of Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai and Sarah Joseph

Synopsis of a Thesis to be submitted to Gujarat Technological University

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Philosophy of Doctorate in

English

By

Anjali Daudbhai Parmar

M.A, B.Ed, M.PHIL (English)

(Supervisor and Guide)

Prof. Ami Upadhyay

Professor in English

Director, School of Humanities & Social Sciences

Dr.Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University

Ahmedabad-380001, Gujarat

Ph.D section, Gujarat Technological University

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Aug-2018

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INTRODUCTION

The title of the research work is Ecofeminism: An Ambivalent Relationship

between Women and Nature in Selected Novels of Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai and

Sarah Joseph

The work is an attempt to find out the ambivalent relationship between Women and

Environment with the context of Ecofeminism. The researcher has also discussed the role of

women and their interconnectedness to the environment and relationship between feminism

and ecology. The researcher has focused on literary work by and about women. Fiction is

always rooted to nourished reality or is a kind of mirror which reflects the realistic life of the

society, its practices, system and problems. On the other hand it also indirectly portrays the

picture of the ills of society, operation and violation of women and nature hand in hand or

dissatisfactory social and family life which enable the reader to think and act on it. Keeping

this in mind, the close study of this thesis will be helpful to the students of literature for the

further research in the field.

The close reading of the select Indian fictions in English by women writers:

Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, Sarah Joseph’s The Scent of the Other side,

Anita Desai’s Fire On the Mountain, highlight this ambivalent relationship that women

have with the environment and make us aware about ecofeminist protagonists and the

struggles of women to conserve and protect their habitats. We come to know that Women and

Environment are inseparable part of every culture and civilization because both women and

Environment have contributed in the progress of mankind; their relationship is defined,

classified and determined by many ecologists and writers. There are very few studies done on

the new term ‘ecofeminism’ as well as there is a need for such comprehensive study in the

present scenario, as today we face the problem of environmental degradation and pollution

due to the increasing industrialization, growth of population, urbanization and the modern

and materialistic philosophy of life as well as exploitation and domination of woman too.

And therefore to examine the importance of this concept, the researcher thought of

undertaking the phenomenon and in that context she has tried to analyse the select novels of

Indian authors, Arundhati Roy, Sarah Joseph and Anita Desai that are enriched with the

essence of ecofeminism.

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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The research work emphasizes on the role of women and their interconnectedness

with the environment and the relationship between ecology and feminism. The research has

tried to examine the importance of woman and nature connectedness and tried to prove their

vital role in this whole ecosystem and in the society. It is also highlight the role of a woman,

who accepts the challenge of sustaining in this society as an ecofeminist which is portrayed in

the novels very amply.

METHODOLOGY

The research work presents the thematic analysis of each selected novels in the

context of the research topic, commenting on all the major and minor characters, their social

situations, struggles, all the ideas, efforts and process including protests to sustain the life on

earth. The research work analysed the three women protagonists who represent the different

shades of women personality and their lives, i.g. Ammu who is from upper caste with her

broken marriage, Nanda Kaul as a typical Indian wife and besides married woman,

Margalitha a nun. Not only the protagonists of the novels but other minor female characters

too become the victims of domination and exploitation of patriarchal society and system and

all the female characters seek shelter in the lap of nature and find peaceful life. Most

interesting thing of these characters is that despite an oppressive patriarchal system and

society, they make efforts to negotiate their silence and freedom. It also portrays that with

the support and encouragement, women can be stronger than men with experience and time.

The research work is totally based on the analysis of the primary and secondary sources, the

books, journals, critical articles, interviews, news etc.

CHAPTERIZATION

CHAPTER-1:

The research work has been organized into five chapters dealing with the

phenomenon that is Ecofeminism embedded with the three renowned authors’ fictions.

The research work starts with introduction of the context. So the first Chapter is

about the background and context in which the researcher examines ecofeminist theory and

offers a detailed introduction to the study, review of literature and issues of ecofeminism. The

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research work begins with a characterization of ecofeminism. It is made up of two words:

Ecology and Feminism. Ecology talks about the current scenario of our planet earth and how

it can be improved. Today the beautiful system of our planet is being violated, polluted,

degraded and devalued on the name of further development and it must be valued because

each and every living thing on this planet is dependent on earth for its survival. The overview

given above reveals, there is a relationship between the subordination and oppression of

women and the exploitation and degradation of the natural world.

Hence, the introductory chapter gives an insight into the concept of Ecofeminism, it

also consists of the various movements and its literature by and about women. The researcher

has also discussed the role of women and their interconnectedness to the environment and the

struggles of women to conserve their habitats. Though the feminist literary criticism often

explored the issues of gender, race and class or general assumptions about gender, gender

role behaviour are shaped by the culture in which authors live and write as well as by race,

socioeconomic status and the impact of colonization on an author’s nation of origin.

Ecofeminism contains the biotic spaces in which the female resides and elaborates on how

the presence of nature and non-human objects correlatively illuminates the situation of

patriarchal/colonization female dominance. Ecofeminism believes that a woman's ethics are

closer to nature than a man’s and revalue the feminine traits. Women are an intimate part of

nature, both in imagination and in practise. Women are also seen in sync with nature,

working in union with it while men have a hierarchical relationship with nature.

After reading various books on ecofeminism, it makes one believe that women’s

relationship to the environment is ambivalent. Ecofeminism is a movement at one level but

ecofeminism has not developed into full-fledged social movement. As we know this

movement is not yet that much powerful and global. This term still needs strong support and

recognition all over the world. In mid-sixties and the early seventies, all over India, there

were students and some activists that protested and started morchas and tribal movements

and women participated in large number in these movements against the women’s operation

and violence and gender discrimination. Women who came out with movements in recent

time are Medha Patkar, Mahasweta Devi, Arundhati Roy and C.K. Janu and many more. In

India, it is surprising that male writers such as Amitav Gosh (The Hungery Tide), Indrasinha

(Animal’s people) and the only Female writer, Arundhati Roy have participated in the field of

postcolonial Indian ecofeminism.

Today ecological and environmental concerns have become very important issues in

the field of human/gender relations’ aspects, especially in women’s lives and the interaction

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between nature/women and colonial patriarchal domination which begs for ecofeminism

analysis. The researcher argues that women’s relationship to the environment is ambivalent.

Ecofeminists look for nonviolent solutions to world problems. Attention of the work is

focussed on the qualitative, analytical and critical interpretation of the ecofeminism and

discusses the feminism and ecology, spirituality, loss of identity and accommodation that the

native people are confronted with the familiar world in the novels The God of Small Things,

Fire On the Mountain and The Scent of the Other side.

Studied from this perspective and angle, the select novels of Arundhati Roy-‘The God

of Small Things’, Anita Desai’s ‘Fire on The Mountain’ and Sarah Joseph’s ‘Otthappu- The

Scent of the Other side’, depict the connection between Human (especially women) and

nature which is inherent and cannot be broken easily. Throughout the world the treatment

bestowed to women is same from the years. Hence, analysing the role of woman and nature

in the respective novels, exploring the miserable condition and struggles of woman against

the mind-set of conservative society and culture and how they try to crush the male

domination in her own way for her own identity has been the objective study of the research.

“We cannot end the exploitation of nature without ending the

human oppression and vice versa.”

(Janis Birkland, “Ecofeminism: linking theory and practice,” in

Geeta Garded., Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature

(Philadelphia. Temple University Press, 1993, p.19)

Today humanity is experiencing the global environmental crisis. Human beings have

the capacity to destroy the life on earth in the name of technology and development. All are

familiar to the environmental disasters around us such as mounting evidence of global

warming, slower radiation effects, threats of nuclear holocaust, growth of the world

population, destruction of the protective ozone layer, effects of acid rain, overcutting of the

forests, loss of topsoil and water, toxic poisoning of the oceans, extinction of animal species

and plants etc. The renowned English historian rightly said in his essay entitled, “Mankind

and Mother Earth” that

“Our present biosphere is the only habitable space we have or

likely to have that mankind has the power to ‘make the

biosphere uninhabitable and that it will, in fact produce this

suicidal result within a foreseeable period of time if the human

pollution of the globe does not take prompt and vigorous

concerted action now to check the pollution and the spoliation

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that are being inflicted upon the biosphere by short sighted

human greed.”

(https://muse.jhu.edu/article/532067/pdf)

In next chapters, the research work seeks to bring out and analyse the selected novels

by famous ecofeminist authors with the light on this and also looking forward to a new dawn

where there is no exploitation prevail against women and nature. This purpose is fulfilled by

studying and analyzing of the main characters of the novels.

CHAPTER-2:

The second chapter is about Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’. Roy was

the first Indian woman who became an international literary sensation as a Polemicist,

gamine, political figure, essayist, coming of the age of feminism, icon of the voiceless by

winning the prestigious Booker Prize Award in London on October 1997 for the novel ‘The

God of Small Things’. Due to this recognition, she as well as her novel has been very popular

in native India and worldwide. She is one of the few Indian ecofeminists who engage with the

issues of ecofeminism – violation of women and nature and his famous work ‘The God of

Small Things’ is a powerful exegesis and argument in this regard which received mixed

reactions after being published and after that she has concentrated on political issues. She is

the supporter of anti-nuclear, anti-American movements and anti-globalization.

However the primary purpose of the research is to focus on the connection of women

and nature in the novel through the themes, style and topics which cannot be avoided while

describing it. By the close reading of the novel one can find that it is partly autobiographical

novel and Rahel may be the representative of Arundhati Roy herself.

In one of her interviews, she admitted that it is very difficult for her to grow up

without father and how much she admires her mother to raise two children on her own in

such a country. Her mother was a social activist. In an interview on October 27, 1997 with

India Today, Mary Roy explained that

“Arundhati Roy is a born talker and a born writer. While she

was studying in our school it was a problem to find a teacher

who could cope with her voracious appetite for reading and

writing.”

(Prasad Murari- Arundhati Roy: Critical Perspective, p.12)

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‘The God of Small Things’ is all about how the nature and women have so much in

common. As all the female characters of the novel are suffering from so many diverse issues

in context of sex, marriage, relations and male dominance and finally lost in the patriarchal

system of the society.

Similarly novel also explores the effects of uneven development, environmental

pollution, degradation and the damaging effects of colonization on the Indian environment

and culture which continue to exploit natural ‘resources’. This is where ecofeminism comes

in picture. The novel shows that human and environmental histories are inseparable. There is

a connection between plantation agriculture and the sexual exploitation of women and

children. Ultimately almost all the major and minor characters of the novel are directly or

indirectly connected with nature. Finally one would agree with the quotes of Julie Mulllaney,

“Roy’s representation in the British media as a public voice of

India’s anti-globalization movement is due to the success of her

novel, The God of Small Things and her sustained contribution

to the debate about feminism, post colonialism and

globalization processes.”

(Murari Prasad, p. 21, 22)

Apart from this, the novel also highlights many other issues such as grief, sorrow,

marital relationship, non-marital relationship, punishment etc. and most of the characters are

victims to it. This is a humble attempt of a research scholar to have a glance at how the novel

deals with the term Ecofemisim – the oppressive coupling of woman and nature which plays

an important role in the novel ‘The God of Small Things’.

CHAPTER-3:

The third chapter is an attempt to delineate the multiple ecofeminist theory in the

context of Anita Desai’s ‘Fire on the Mountain’. As far as Anita Desai is concerned, she

writes mostly about the miserable conditions of women suffering under the male dominance

society, who is an object of gaze in the masochistic society where she is a wife, a daughter, a

mother, an artist or a writer. Most of her characters are alienated from the world, from the

society, from the families, from parents and even from their own selves. Most of the novels

by her are set among the cultural and social changes. She is familiar with the contemporary

Indian milieu from which she derives the background and characters for her novels. In one of

her interviews, she argued that writing was a necessity for her because she was able to think,

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to feel and to realize at the highest pitch as she wrote and that she found writing to be a

‘process of discovering the truth’.

Desai’s characters always attempt to overcome the societal limitations imposed on

them by the patriarchal culture. As a result, the women lead to miserable life. Externally

everything looks smooth but internally the fire which burns in the heart of Nanad kaul, the

protagonist of ‘Fire on the Mountain’, with frustration and suppressed emotions, she suffers

in the voice of silence like Maya and Monisha. Whereas Ila emerges as an independent

individual and fights against local priests. She thinks, women are willing poor dears, who try

and change their dreadful lives by efforts. Thereby Nanda and Ila become representatives of

all the women who must sacrifice for others. In the writings of this novel, Nature and human

nature are very intricately woven and one would agree that ‘Fire on the Mountain’ is a

marvellous novel by Anita Desai. She has given narrative voices to her women characters to

explore the experiences of Indian women and focused on the environmental degradation

taking place in a modernizing and industrializing India and has also examined the psyche of

women in isolation, far from the civilisation.

Anita Desai, through her writings makes one aware about the environmental hazard

and degradation of nature as this has become a global concern in recent times. Anita Desai

thus, occupies an unassailable place in the galaxy of Indian English women writers. She is

one of the strongest voices of women writing in Indian today. In this wonderful novel Desai

has pierced into the prized solitude of a regal, dignified, elderly woman and given us a look

inside her heart who makes us

“...understand and feel what is to be woman, know how a

woman thinks and feels and behaves.”

(Desai Anita, “Indian women writers, The Eye of the

beholder Indian Writing in English,ed.Maggie

Buthcher(London: commonwealth Institute, 1983), p. 54)

Through the oppression and domination of her female characters: Nanda, Raka and Ila

Desai reveals the ecofeminism in her novel and also brings the connection between women

and nature by proving herself as a ecofeminist.

Here the researcher would like to conclude with the fact that “we have to return

everything that we have borrowed from nature.” Life means not just existing; life must be

lived not on one’s own terms, but as its own terms.

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CHAPTER-4:

The forth chapter of the thesis continues with the analysis of the concept of

ecofeminism in Sarah Joseph’s ‘Otthappu - The Scent of the Otherside’. Sarah Joseph, the

author, environmentalist, a social activist and an artist is a living legend of the present

generation. She is the most renowned contemporary Indian female writer in Kerala. By

contributing ‘Ecriture-feminine’ (writing seen as a feminist concept, in which the author uses

female constructions of identity), a stream in Malayalam literature through her collection of

short stories ‘Paapathara’ (1989), she becomes the God mother of feminist movement in

Kerala. She has also found the impact of her writing as she says it has changed the perception

of young people:

“I think it created a moment, a change internally. I have had

many boys telling me that it changed the way they looked at

their mother and sister.”

(www. thehindu.com)

Being a feminist and an environmentalist, Sarah Joseph focuses on the women and

nature, issues of inequalities and development which leads to the ecological destructions, in

her trilogy – ‘Alahayude Pennmakal’ is the first, ‘Maathathi’ is the second and the third is

‘Otthappu - The scent of the Other side’.

The women of today need to seek the power within them. Ecofeminism as an ideology

and movement finds that the oppression of women is interlinked to the oppression of nature

with the same masculine centred attitudes and practices concerning to the patriarchal society.

Ecofeminism has its roots in literature also.

As Carolyn Merchant points out,

“We make by act trees and flowers to come earlier or later than

their seasons, and to come up and bear more speedily than their

natural course they do. We make them by act greater, much

more than their nature, and their fruit greater and sweeter and

of differing taste, smell, colour and figure from their nature.”

Thus nature came to be seen as more like a woman to be raped and even the violation

of nature is linked with the violation of women. The research also examines the cultural and

spiritual ecofeminism as ecofeminism is an ideology for the recognition of women, for the

preservation of nature and for the sustenance of life on earth. Ecological destruction and

industrial catastrophes constitutes a direct threat to everyday life. The focus of Ecofeminism

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is not on saving trees, animals or soil because it is sacred, but rather because it is necessary

for the survival of people. They also talked about the rising of women everywhere and protect

life from the capitalist patriarchal world system.

In this chapter, the researcher has explored the elementary tenets of ecofeminism and

has highlighted the fundamental issues of Social, Political, Economic and Psychological and

their impact on women and environment in an eco-feminist perspective.

Entering a convent to become a nun and leaving a convent to re-enter the world as a

defrocked nun are both difficult decisions. Her former decision to become a nun is

appreciated by the family and society; later on the same society has condemned her on her

second decision to run away from the convent. The structural and ideological circumstances

limit the total freedom and absolute choice of human. This is so with women. Those who risk

their lives in this case are called feminists that we find in our protagonist Margalitha. In

search of God, Margalitha first took the vows of chastity, poverty, obedience to god and till

the end she never breaks that vows after defrocked.

Margalitha is an othappu or we can say an offence to all the patriarchal institutions -

family, church, law and even educational pedagogy. In Indian history, we have female forces

of liberation as a part of Bhakti Movement such as Mirabai, Akkamahadevi, Janabai and so

on. In Othappu, Margalitha’s personal escapism, inherent in such liberation stories as she

takes up the mission of service - the service of humanity through a maternity and motherhood

that can mother the children of the earth, born and unborn. This text also glances on faith,

rebellion and devotion to a path outside of the Church positively. This novel is really the

reflection of contemporary Kerala.

Here let it be concluded with the famous lines of Margaret Atwood’s poem, ‘You want

to go back’, which truly describes female space and freedom,

“You want to go back

To where the sky was inside us

Animals run through us, our hands

Blessed and killed according to our wisdom.

Death made real blood come out.

But face it we have been improved, our heads float

Several inches above our neck...

Our bodies are populated with billions of soft pink numbers

Multiplying and analysing them, perfecting their own demands

No troubles to anyone.”

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Today in this new era we need to support, to explore, to empower and to change the

format of the society indeed to accept woman as an independent human being.

CHAPTER-5:

The last chapter draws forth the conclusion of above chapters. The fifth chapter is

concluding one, stating on multiple perspectives the researcher has come across during the

process of analyzing the selected novels of writers of extraordinary caliber.

Today the whole globe is familiar with the environmental disasters around it such as

mounting evidence of global warming, slower radiation effects, threats of nuclear holocaust,

growth of the world population, destruction of the protective ozone layer, effects of acid rain,

overcutting of the forests, loss of topsoil and water, toxic poisoning of the oceans, extinction

of animal species and plants etc. The renowned English historian rightly said in his essay

entitled, ‘Mankind and Mother Earth’ that

“our present biosphere is the only habitable space we have, or

are ever likely to have, that mankind now has the power to

‘make the biosphere uninhabitable and that it will, in fact

produce this suicidal result within a foreseeable period of time if

the human pollution of the globe does not now take prompt and

vigorous concerted action to check the pollution and the

spoliation that are being inflicted upon the biosphere by short

sighted human greed.”

(https://muse.jhu.edu/article/532067/pdf)

However, in this face of threats, unfortunately, we still continue to place self-interest

first in place of public interest under the tag of ‘love ourselves best of all.’ And we are facing

the major problems like environmental degradation, urbanization, hunger, exploitation and

many more. The focus of this research is to contribute to the evolving dialogue among

feminists, Eco feminists, animal liberationists, deep ecologists and social ecologists in an

effort to create a sustainable lifestyle for all inhabitants of the earth. The study also confirms

that the women writers through their writings try to present the consciousness of this problem

to the world.

Literature has been playing a vital and constructing role in promoting the

environmental ethics over the years. The selected Novelists’ concern for globalization and

women especially those from the background like traditional norms; clutches of familial

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restrictions etc have been deeply examined in this work. In all three novels, the women

protagonists discover themselves rising to the occasion by declaring their individuality, their

preference to live their own life and overcome strange and difficult circumstances and

emerge victorious. They create best of what they can of their life. When they have a

possibility, they struggle and discover happiness, and at other times they settle for whatever

they can achieve, rather than stagnate under containment and suppression.

The mother earth is beset with serious environmental degradation and many people

and organisations from the worldwide contribute in different ways as much as possible to

deal with the relationship between man and nature and environmental preservation. For

example the ‘green grabbing’ or land grabbing process means the appropriation of land and

the resources for environmental ends. Their agenda is its appropriation for a range of uses in

future. They try to repair the damaged nature. So that nature becomes a source of profit and

valuable for what they offer us. Through virtual spectacles, new representations and ideas in

the news, media, through internet, popular imagery and advertising brochures one can urge

the people about the present scenario of globalization and try to appeal to value the mother

earth. In such context actors are emerging to contribute by go green campaign. But such a

vision or transformation will not just happen, we have to take a stand against the modern

society’s treatment towards the natural world as well as women and about the seriousness of

global environmental crisis. As we agree that all life on this planet is sacred and all should

value and live in unity with each other to develop healthy relationship with nature.

The TV show named ‘TEDTALK’ has featured such episodes dealing with new ideas

to resolve several environmental issues like deforestation and pollution. It featured the

journey of people who invented some out of the box ideas to deal with some problems like

pollution resulting from vehicles and deforestation. They invented a machine which converts

carbon particles coming out of vehicles into black ink and a unique technique of planting

particular combination of plants and trees according to the surrounding environment and land

characteristics with minimal use of land. Such inspiring works and people are the real needs

of the hour for us and our earth to handle the natural crisis and improve it. It also elucidates

some episodes related to women empowerment, child bearing and upbringing, child

psychology as well as on human behaviour towards minor people, caste system on which

each one of us should work to change the society and an individual’s perspective.

Finally we look at the solution, As the life goes on, Still the question arises in our

mind, how should human maintains the ecological balance and one would hope, man by

enlightening himself would try to impose a unique image by keeping necessary connection

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between Man and Nature and transforming into a better human being to protect the

environment and also raise awareness around the world. All are equal and all have right to

live together in harmony.

All would agree that the whole world has entered into a new millennium, but till today

the women continue to be oppressed, exploited and ill-treated in the most of the part of the

society. Such writings and research would bring about the change in the condition of women

as well as environment.

To eliminate the discrimination of women on the basis of gender bias and dominance

through violence, it is very important to change the psychology of society towards women

from a grass root which is only possible by infusing proper education and moral values in

children by parents and teachers. We should promote gender equality. Indeed women have

achieved success in last few decades, but if there is to be a truly women empowerment, much

remains to be done. To be brief by providing their deserved rights, women can change their

silenced nature into brave and confident voice. The researcher concludes that the study offers

an interesting observation on the cause of two serious problems in our society: woman and

nature and it should not be ignored.

Here the researcher would like to refer the famous quote of Swami Vivekananda who

truly said, “There is no chance of the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is

improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.”

Finally the work is accomplished on the basis of secondary sources including –

reviews of books, newspapers, journals, research reports, interviews of eco feminist writers

and other secondary materials.

Researcher

Anjali D. Parmar

(Enrollment No.-13997571003#2013 Batch)

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