An Analysis Of Gone With The Wind From The Perspective Of Eco-feminism

Gone with the Wind, regarded as an "encyclopedia of the plantation legend", is the masterpiece of Margaret Mitchell, an outstanding woman of letters in the gallery of American literature. With its universal themes and vivid characterization, the novel won both the National Book Award for Most Distinguished Novel and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It also became a focus of study for critics.The consciousness of ecofeminism is clearly reflected in the novel. Ecofeminism, opposing the pressure on women and nature under the domination of patriarchal view of the world, attempts to explore the universal relationship between devaluing women and nature and proposes to build a new world where human being and nature, men and women live peacefully and harmoniously. This thesis attempts to interpret Gone with the Wind through the lens of ecofeminism to broaden the investigative perspective of the work.This thesis consists of five parts:the introduction, three main chapters and the conclusion.In Introduction, a brief summary of Margaret Mitchell and the current studies of Gone with the Wind are made. Then it provides a glimpse of the basic views of ecofeminism as well as the mutual dependence and the "ethic of care" it advocates.Chapter One, through probing complex connections between women and land, house, and how women are naturalized and how nature is feminized, emphasizes women’s identification with nature in Gone with the Wind.Chapter Two examines the living conditions of women and nature under patriarchy. It elaborates that nature is subjected to brutal rule from men, at the same time women are marginalized in the male-centered society. Meanwhile as an outcome of patriarchal thinking, war imposes destructive effect on both women and nature. Therefore, women and nature become the victims of patriarchy. Based on the theory of ecofeminism, the thesis further explores the causes of nature’s deterioration and women’s suffering-both resulting from the dualistic thinking mode and androcentrism of patriarchy. Chapter Three explores the possibility of the reconstruction of a harmonious world. Through expounding human relations in the novel with textual analysis, including men-women, women-women and human-nature relationships, the thesis reveals the ecofeminist consciousness embodied in Gone with the Wind-the role of equality thoughts and ethics of care in improving human relations and constructing a healthy and harmonious human society. Therefore,by researching into these potential positive factors embedded in the novel, this thesis reveals Mitchell’s pursuit of a harmonious world.The Conclusion summarizes the paper and points out the significance of this study. By examining situations of women and nature under the domination by patriarchy in Gone with the Wind, this thesis hopes to call for human beings to think about how to balance the relationship between men and women, and how to get along well with nature. Mitchell’s depiction of relations between human and nature, relations among humans exhibits her deep ecological concern for nature and human, demonstrating that she is a writer with strong ecofeminist consciousness.