Mrs Gaskell’s Ecological Values Reflected In Mary Barton

Eco-aesthetics originated in the western countries in the middle of the1990s. It is a literary and cultural movement which is closely related to current ecological crisis faced by human society. It concerns the aesthetic relationship between man and nature, man and society, man and his inner self in a broad sense. The development of eco-aesthetics has aroused many scholars’ sense of responsibility for nature and society. Young as it is, as a theory of literary criticism, Eco-aesthetics has developed quickly. So an interpretation of the classical works from the ecological perspective is one of the important tasks of eco-aesthetics.Elizabeth Gaskell, best known for her novels depicting scenes of English country life, often highlights the huge divide between the rich and the poor. Her detailed description, profound observation and penetrating thought endows her work with a realistic color. Many scholars have analyzed Mary Barton from the angle of class contradictions or ethic concerns. Based on the foregoing studies, this paper studies Mary Barton from eco-criticism to reveal Mrs. Gaskell’s harmonious eco-value.Lu Shuyuan, one of the well-known critics in China, advised us to analyze literary works form natural ecology, social ecology and spiritual ecology. So this paper focuses on the relationship between man and nature, man and man, and man and his inner self to interpret Mary Barton. Through the analysis, Mrs. Gaskell’s value of harmony will be naturally illustrated.Everything starts from conflict:man and nature, man and man, man and himself. But under the pen of Gaskell, all kinds of conflicts are finally resolved.In terms of the relationship between man and nature, man destroys nature and nature takes revenge on man. In the novel, Mrs. Gaskell, on the one hand, condemns human devastation of the environment; on the other, she speaks highly of progress brought about by modern civilization. She believes that pollution should be controlled and the development of civilization be upheld too. To achieve this, Man should abandon the wrong ideal of anthropocentrism and treat civilization and nature as equally important. A balance needs to be built and kept between man and nature. Then for social ecology, man and man are also in confrontations. The hatred between the rich and poor resulting from the environmental crisis, economic crisis and mutual misunderstanding finally dissolves due to their awakening inner goodness. The father and daughter regains their mutual love at last. And women realize their equitable roles with men in the family. All kinds of the disharmony return to harmony which are the only way out for a pleasant interpersonal relationship. As for the spiritual ecology, man more or less suffers spiritual crisis. The rich are selfish and cruel while the poor abandon their belief in God. But under the pen of Gaskell, all characters get rid of the spiritual crisis and find their harmonious inner state. The happy ending illustrates well Gaskell’s expectation of harmony.