Gender roles vis-à-vis nature: eco-feminist reading of Amitav Ghosh’s novels

Abstract

The thesis focuses on the Sundarbans region and the idea of Eco-feminism through Amitav Ghosh's novel. Through this work readers will be able to understand and discover the unique relationship between human and nature, and can relate to the ideas presented by Maria Mies and Vandana Shiva in their seminal book Ecofeminism. The term Eco-feminism is a unique approach through which people can explore the bond and connection between women and nature, which is different from what we find in Eco-criticism. Eco-criticism focuses on environmental issues and women’s rights aligned with preservation of nature. This research intends to analyse Ghosh's writings and the characters presented in them through the perspectives of Mies and Shiva. I will conduct a qualitative research to analyse the ecofeminist perspective in the novels Jungle Nama, The Hungry Tide and The Gun Island in a detailed manner. The ordeals of women living around the Sundarbans as portrayed in Ghosh, will disclose the eco-feminist ideas he has woven in his writings. This thesis extensively analyses the important characters like Bon Bibi and Moyna from an eco-feminist perspective. These important characters reach far beyond their assigned roles to show us the most important principles of eco-feminism. These characters from the novels are extremely valued and demonstrate a bonding between the culture and natural settings. They establish a fascinating setting for exploring the ideas of human and environmental justice.