An Analysis Of Women’s Destiny In J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace And In The Heart Of The Country From Ecofeminist Perspective

J. M. Coetzee is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in2003. As a white South African born novelist and scholar, J. M. Coetzee is one of the most distinguished and significant writers at the turn of the twenty-first century. The Swedish Academy comments on his works as follows,"There is a great wealth of variety in Coetzee’s works. No two books ever follow the same recipe. Extensive reading reveals a recurring pattern, the downward spiralling journeys he considers necessary for the salvation of his characters. His protagonists are overwhelmed by the urge to sink but paradoxically derive strength from being stripped of all external dignity."(http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2003/press.html) This paper is concentrating on the women and nature’s similar destiny in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace and In the Heart of the Country from ecofeminist perspective.This whole paper consists of six chapters. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to J. M. Coetzee and his works, the plots of J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace and In the Heart of the Country, the social background of South Africa, literature review as well as thesis statement. The second chapter illustrates the theory of ecofeminism. The third chapter divides into two parts to talk about the relationship between men and women. As women, they must suffer from men’s violence, and rape is an embodiment of man’s oppression on woman. The paper clarifies this point through five women’s suffering:Soraya (a prostitute), Melanie (a student), Lucy (a white woman), Anna (a servant) and Magda (a master girl). As daughters, they are all victims of the patriarchal society. The fourth chapter analyzes the relationship between women and nature. Through describing the relationship between women and land and women and animals, the author can draw a conclusion that women share similar destiny to nature: they both suffer from men’s domination and exploitation. The fifth chapter continues to focus on the women’s choice after they suffer the violence of men. The last chapter gives the conclusions that in a patriarchal society, women like nature are under the control of men. Ecofeminists call on the society to show respect to women and nature.