| I argue in this study that ecocritical analysis of work by William Shakespeare and Jane Austen that recognizes the Christian foundation for the cultures in which they lived adds a theological dimension consistent with their world views. A theological dimension places the landscape, vegetation, animals, food, and even humanity"s baser desires under the dominion that God granted to humanity in Genesis. In the Early Modern era, theologians defined dominion as humanity"s responsibility to atone for the Fall through an attempt to restore as much as possible the earth"s inhabitants to its prelapsarian state. By the late eighteenth century, the concept of dominion changed to one of stewardship. Humanity is required to care for the natural world benevolently, recognizing its beauty and maximizing its utility, with the knowledge that God will judge these efforts. Both approaches result in ecological preservation.;This study applies these definitions of dominion to Shakespeare"s Much Ado about Nothing and Austen"s Pride and Prejudice, works paired in critical tradition. The principal couples in each work, Benedick with Beatrice and Darcy with Elizabeth, demonstrate a relationship with the natural world that honors the theological beliefs of their time. Their ability to value the landscape, the nonhuman life with which they live, and the food they eat, along with their ability to moderate animal passions with reason enable them to act as role models for the attitudinal changes necessary for ecological advances today. |
