A Holistic Vision

"A Holistic Vision:An Ecofeminist Interpretation of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain," explores the philosophical means to achieve a harmonious world based on the study on the relationship between woman and nature under patriarchy’s power. The thesis examines Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain (1997), with reference to the social-political status quo upon the novel’s publication, analysing the female protagonists’learning and embracing of nature, as well as the male power’s hegemonic domination and corresponding alienation from the former two.The overall argument of the thesis is that, a holistic world such as that Frazier has envisioned in Cold Mountain requires an alternative philosophy, such as Holistic Ecofeminism, as guidance to conciliate the antagonisms that brought about by patriarchal dualistic thinking.With examples in both contemporary society and Frazier’s fiction, the thesis traces varied problems in social, economic and political spheres and attempts, including ecocritic theories, that try to ease them as the world progresses. Informed by Holistic Ecofeminism, a theory proposed by ecofeminist Marti Kheel, the thesis pinpoints the source of the conflicting antagonisms as patriarchal dualistic thinking. Patriarchal dualism becomes one major guiding principle for many of human behaviors. However, it prompts the construction of "masculine identidy", a process that subordinates woman, nature and "weak males" to patriarchy’s rule, and thereby intrigues irreconcilable conflicts. Ecofeminism, as an alternative worldview, provides one feasible solution to the conflicts, not merely to cope with the passive outcomes, but to prevent the antagonism from coming forth. It attaches great importance to relationship and empathy, and therefore approaches the world with an indiscriminating and caring attitude. To be specific, first of all, one should value woman’s opinion, which was previously debased and disregarded, and an "appropriate care" should also be developed; next, one should try to learn from woman, seeing the wisdom in indigenous knowledge and understanding the insight in one’s interdependence with nature, so as to care about others instead take care; thirdly, one should respect nature as a whole entity while value each individual, and embrace contextualized thinking, even in matters such as vegetarianism.To conclude, the thesis studies the suffering of woman and nature under the oppression of the patriarchy, and further explores the underlying cause for it and finally proposes to value both nature and woman, and to learn from their relationship, and the "appropriate care" for the individual as well as the community. The discussion on the devaluation of woman and nature is not restricted to the temporal setting of the novel, i.e., the historic period of American Civil War. This is due to the similarity drawn between mainstream ideology of contemporary society and Civil War America, as well as the invariance of long-pursued wish of a harmonious world by human.