Breaking Boundaries In Gender And Nature: An Ecofeminist Reading Of The Scenes In The Waves

The Waves is the most experimental work of Virginia Woolf.She attempts to run all scenes together by rhythm and dissolve several personalities to quest for a whole self.Since the book was published,the criticism of The Waves points to many issues covered in it—the experimental form and structure,the politics,the symbolism,the feminism articulation and so on.But one aspect remains unexplored,that is,how to evaluate the representation of nature in it and its profound mediation in prompting Woolf's visions of achieving an ultimate unity in this fiction. Despite several illuminating essays on Woolf and environment,critics seem to shy away from an in-depth examination of Woolfs eco-feminist perceptions.This thesis,therefore,proposes a serious eco-feminist way of reading The Waves that recognizes the interconnection of nature and women without setting up a hierarchy of oppressions and dichotomies.The thesis investigates the scenes of naturalized women which are incorporated with fire,earth and water to express Woolf's expansive view of nature and further explores the scenes which are interwoven with the paticularities of discourse,the quest for selfhood,and an ecological picture of unity through the destruction of dichotomies.By illustrating the potential of an ecofeminist paradigm with discussion of breaking the boundaries in gender and nature in The Waves,the thesis comes to conclude with a sketch of the future vision of achieving harmonious existence with the nature.