Original scientific paper
Nature and the Monstrous Woman: An Ecofeminist Reading of The Darkest Part of the Forest
Valentina Markasović
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Osijek
Abstract
The Darkest Part of the Forest is a novel by Holly Black, a popular American author but so far rather scantily presented in academic research. The novel directly and indirectly describes the relationship between the humans and nature, so it is fitting to read it through an ecofeminist prism. The argument describes what that relationship is and deals with the embodiment of nature in the character of a monstrous woman. Besides the novel, the paper also relies on the elements of ecofeminism as described by Vandana Shiva, Maria Mies, and other scholars in the field. The analysis of the novel reveals that the work uses the postulates of ecofeminism to promote a non-violent stance toward nature, as well as equality between the humans and nature. To achieve this the novel partially uses strategic essentialism when embodying nature in a female character, whereas in representing relationships between other characters and nature, it simultaneously works against a stereotypical view of women as inherently connected to nature.
Keywords
ecofeminism; fantastic literature; Holly Black; strategic essentialism; The Darkest Part of the Forest
Hrčak ID:
309962
URI
Publication date:
20.11.2023.
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