An Eco-Feministic Interpretation Of The Grass Is Singing

As the winner of the Nobel Prize of2007, Doris May Lessing,(1919-) is one of the most famous female writers in Britain. Her maidenwork The Grass is Singing, which takes South Africa in1940s as thebackground, was published in1950.The main purpose of this thesis is to interpret the eco-feministicthoughts of The Grass is Singing. Most of the researchers study The Grassis Singing from the perspective of colonialism or feminism, and only afew researchers study it from the perspective of eco-feminism. Meanwhile,the problems of race and class in the novel are rarely mentioned in thoseeco-feministic studies. However, the writer of this thesis thinks thatwomen, nature, colored people and the poor are interconnected with eachother in the conception of eco-feminism and should be all included withinanalysis.The whole thesis consists of six chapters. The first chapter providescomprehensive background information of the author and the work. The second chapter reviews the relevant academic comments about the authorand the work. The third chapter introduces the theory of eco-feminismsystematically. The main body of this thesis consists of the fourth chapterand the fifth chapter. The fourth chapter analyzes the interconnectedoppressions of nature, women, colored people and the poor underpatriarchy. The fifth chapter further interprets the resistance of nature,women, colored people and the poor against patriarchy. In the conclusionpart, it is summed up that this novel does contain profound eco-feminismthoughts.The interpretation of The Grass is Singing with the perspective ofeco-feminism not only broadens the research perspective of the work, butalso has a great significance in the introspection and inspiration how toestablish a harmonious society. Only when nature, women, colored people,the poor, and other marginalized groups are no longer considered as“other” under patriarchy, can a harmonious society be built in the future.