An Eco-feminist Interpretation Of A Mercy By Tony Morrison

Toni Morrison, (1931-) is one of the outstanding black female writers, in modern America. Her major works are Song of Solomon, The bluest eye, Love and Beloved and many more. These works strengthened her fame in American literature and got her the Nobel Prize in 1993, thus becoming the first African-American writer to get the Nobel Prize for literature in the world. Her new novel A Mercy has big influence on many fields and got many different responses. The variety of her topics and perfect art form make the novel an inexhaustible treasure for us to dig.The title A Mercy has a very strong sense of religion, there are many plots within the novel relating with the Bible, for example Eden, etc. In A Mercy Morrison relates race with gender and nature very closely and realize that women, nature and colored people are oppressed by the same source that is domination by men. This novel displays her eco-feminism ideas from different levels. In her creation, her attention to women and nature shows her realization of eco-feminism. It is for this reason that this thesis analysis A Mercy from that point of view. This thesis will analysis the interconnection between women and nature dominated by men by focusing on black women from A Mercy, and combining the basic ideas of eco-feminism, at the same time showing that women can get rid of their body oppressions, hence reflecting how women face confusion, dilemma, awakening, pursuit and rebuilding themselves from their mind. Thus harmony and ideal living status can be built up between human and nature, men and women and so on."Eco-feminism"is the product of gradual interconnection of feminist and ecological movements emerged in France in the mid-1970s out of second-wave feminist and ecological movements. Feminism and ecology began to work together to deal with the inextricable connections between the domination of nature and the subjugation of women."Eco-feminism"holds that, Patriarchy society's domination of nature and the subjugation of women's ideological and cultural background are from the same source. Thus, to solve the problem of ecological crisis, build a harmony world, we need to connect feminist movement with race movement and ecology movement closely. For"Eco-feminism"is still a new literature criticism while criticism and study about Tony Morrison's A Mercy has just started. So, analyzing this work from this point of view has some innovation. This thesis is mainly about A Mercy to analysis the factors of eco-feminism. Thus, it is helpful for us to grasp Toni Morrison's invention thoughts that to study her work A Mercy from the point of view of eco-feminism. At the same time, knowing her idea of eco-feminism makes us recognize the importance and emergency of the harmonious co-existence between human beings and nature today.My thesis will be divided into five main parts: in the first chapter, I will make a brief introduction to Toni Morrison, her new novel A Mercy and the influence of the religion and dualism to A Mercy. In the second chapter, I will first make a brief introduction to eco-feminism as a movement and as a theory; I will also explore the eco-feminist influence on Morrison's writings. In the third chapter, specific examples will be given to show the author's awareness of men's victimization of nature and women. Based on the fictional details, I will illustrate the causes of men's dominance over nature and women. In the forth chapter, I will explore the interconnection between sexism, racism, colonialism and the exploitation of nature. In the fifth chapter, I will present Morrison's concept of a harmonious world reflected in the novel. In Morrison's eyes, an ecologically harmonious society can be built with the restoration of the belief in goddesses, the harmony between nature and human beings, the harmony between men and women, and the preservation of indigenous cultures. Through the analysis of eco-feminist elements in this novel, we may have a clearer understanding of Morrison's eco-feminist consciousness. My thesis is intended to further the research of Toni Morrison and to help readers to better understand the authoress'literary creation. Besides, an eco-feminist reading of this novel may also help readers to realize the urgency and importance of keeping balance between humans and nature when the current ecological crisis has been threatening all of us on the earth.