The Voice From Nature And Women-an Ecofeminist Interpretation Of A Thousand Acres

Jane Smiley is a new star shinning in the American contemporary literature. Hernovels mainly elaborate on the lives of American middle class. A Thousand Acres isconsidered as her masterpiece. Because of the popularity of this book, Smiley won thePulitzer Prize and National Book Critics’ Circle Award.In the A Thousand Acres, Smiley shows great concern about the ecological crisisand the suffering of women in Zebulon County. Apart from the inherent cruelty andirresponsibility of parents who endanger their children’s later psychological andphysical health, it brings into question the traditional acceptance of the authority ofthe family and especially of the father. Besides that, the novel is also a manifestationof Smiley’s ecological awareness.Through the words of the narrator, Ginny, Smiley depicts a farm family tornapart by its patriarch. Larry Cook, a vain and autocratic man, is also a faithfulsupporter of industrial approaches to agriculture. The farm, formerly a vast wetland,has been systematically drained and worked over which chemicals and heavymachinery to maximize production. The farm abounds in poisons because of the overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. The oppression of nature parallels to that of women.Ginny is a docile, submissive daughter and wife. Ginny loses her female voice facingthose subordinations from men, who had to face the horror of repeated beat and rapeduring her childhood. After getting married, Ginny suffers double oppression bothfrom her father and husband. In the patriarchal culture, men tend to treat nature asexploitable objects. Nature and women are put in an inferior position where men as asuperior class can manipulate their power. This kind of ideology based on dualismjustifies man’s domination.The main body of this thesis is divided into four parts. Chapter One tries toexplore the intimacy between women and nonhuman nature. Connection will beanalyzed from three aspects: the connection between women and land, the overlapbetween women and animals, the parallel between women and water. The interconnection between the subordination of women and that of nonhuman naturewill be exhibited from these three dimensions. The second part mainly focuses on thevoice of oppression under masculine domination, which exhibits the sufferings ofwomen and nature in patriarchal society. In order to maximize the productivity,farmers in Zebulon County represented by Larry applied fertilizers and pesticides tothe land. What they have done exhausted the farm and polluted the water. Like nature,the two daughters in Cook family suffer physical and physical abuse imposed by theirfather and husband. Women are degraded to objects and their right to speak isdeprived under male domination. Chapter Three puts an emphasis on how naturetakes revenge and the awakening of female conscious. The competitions for moreland make people’s relationship more and more detached and mechanized. Womenbecame the primary victims of environmental pollution and they suffered enough. It’stime to fight for their identity. Inspired by her two sisters and Jess, Ginny makes upher mind to search for her voice and identity. Finally Ginny gets rid of the thousandacres’ cage and restores her self-esteem. Chapter Four elaborates on the analysis ofthe destruction of male domination and the arousal of ecological awareness.By connecting utilirian attitudes of domination over nature with unbridled malepower over women, A Thousand Acres provides a powerful ecofeminist rereading ofagrarian history in the Midwest. This thesis follows the thread of the awakening ofGinny’s voice and explores the deep meaning of the novel from the dimension ofecofeminism. The thesis advocates more attention should be paid to environmentalprotection and the equality among human beings.