https://doi.org/10.67147/literariness.v1i4.051
Women, Nature and the Politics: An Ecofeminist Reading of Sarah Joseph’s Gift in Green
RESMI RAVINDRAN
Assistant Professor
Department of English
T.K.Madhava Memorial College
Nangiarkulangara
Affiliated to University of Kerala
Abstract: Ecofeminism is seen as a valuable approach for understanding the close link between the exploitation of nature and the oppression of women. It challenges social systems which place humans above nature and within human society give men a superior status to women. From this viewpoint, environmental destruction cannot be viewed merely as the loss of forests, rivers and other natural resources since it also has an impact on people’s livelihoods, communities, health, memory and social relationships. Sarah Joseph’s novel Gift in Green (2011), which is a translation from her Malayalam novel Aathi, offers a strong literary illustration of these connections. The novel is set in Aathi, an island community in which the people’s way of life is closely tied to water, paddy fields, mangroves, fishing and traditional agriculture. The arrival of Kumaran and his development schemes gradually disrupts this relationship. His concept of progress is based on construction, the acquisition of land, commercial agriculture and higher production. What he refers to as development, however, leads to ecological damage and social disruption. This article examines Gift in Green from an ecofeminist point of view, with a particular focus on the ideas of Vandana Shiva and Bina Agarwal. The article states that Joseph does not present women as being naturally or biologically nearer to nature; instead, their ecological awareness develops as a result of the daily work and their dependence on land and water. At the same time, the novel contains men who actively protect the environment, thus going beyond a simple contrast between men and women. In the end, Gift in Green encourages readers to think again about what development actually means and to consider whether economic progress has any worth if it undermines the ecological and social foundations of human life.
Keywords: Ecofeminism, Sarah Joseph, Gift in Green, Aathi, women, nature, development, water, Vandana Shiva,