The Harmonious Symbiosis Between Man And Nature

Sarah Orne Jewett is a prominent American woman writer in the second half of the 19 th century.Her works are known for her local color character,reflecting the fulfilling and simple life of native residents in New England.As the most outstanding work of Jewett,The Country of the Pointed Firs builds a harmonious society of women's “Utopia”,which is highly valued by feminist literary criticism.From the perspective of deep ecology and eco-feminism,this thesis makes an in-depth interpretation of The Country of the Pointed Firs,and it believes that the depicted “land of idyllic beauty” that transcends gender,makes oneself experience,and creates harmonious symbiosis between men and women in the novel is the realization of the equal symbiosis between man and nature,the total coexistence and capacity of philosophy,and the imaginativeness of ethical thought.The diversity of the world requires,on the one hand,the Self-realization,ecological equality and symbiosis;on the other hand,it requires individuals' ceaseless exploration and pursuit for the source of the essence of life.While women's “life skills” and “minor world” indicate that high levels of Self-realization can only be achieved by a simple lifestyle as their approach,and their life experience as a mysterious force guides the development and maturity of human from “self” to “Self”.The thesis totally has seven chapters.The first chapter,as the introduction part,introduces the author and her works and then summarizes the research results of the academic community on The Country of the Pointed Firs,leading to the perspective of this thesis' s interpretation of the novel and the arguments to be elaborated.The second chapter introduces the theories of deep ecology and eco-feminism,and it analyzes the relationship between the two,regarding the combination of the two as the theoretical basis and analytical means of this thesis.The third chapter analyzes the influence of Jewett's growth environment and experience on the formation of her ecological ideas.The fourth chapter analyzes the ecological care embodied in the novel.The fifth chapter analyzes the harmonious symbiosis of Mrs.Todd and Mrs.Blackett with nature and reveals the good qualities of the two characters: their simplicity,love of nature,respect for nature and harmony with nature.Chapter six uses the principle of Self-realization in deep ecology to analyze the other three characters in the novel,the narrator,Joanna and Elijah;and it shows their growth in nature and their self-improvement,their achievement of a maximum range of self-identity with other things and the unity and concordant capacity of the mind and nature.The seventh chapter is the conclusion,reaffirming the eco-feminism thoughts of the harmonious symbiosis between women and nature advocated by Jewett,and emphasizing the ecological values of ecological equality and Self-realization embodied in the novel.