Men,Women,and Nature Under The Logic Of Domination

Hardy categorized his four works,A Pair of Blue Eyes(1873),The TrumpetMajor(1880),Two on a Tower(1882)and The Well-Beloved(1897),as "Romances and Fantasies" in the General Preface to the 1912 Wessex Edition.In these works,Hardy draws inspiration from the social issues of the time in England,and employs a writing style heavily influenced by Romanticism to vividly portray the wondrous nature and the women living in it.With an analysis of the interactions among the male characters,the female characters,and nature in these works,this thesis proposes that their tragic endings are rooted in the oppressive patriarchal domination of both nature and women,and that women deploy ecofeminist spiritualities to effectively combat the unjust double domination.An ecofeminist perspective is adopted here to argue that there is a relationship between the degradation of nature and the oppression of women.To begin with,the close relationship between nature and women is explored in detail and depth.Then,the logic of domination put forward by K.J.Warren is used to examine the causes and forms of the oppressive domination of both nature and women.Furthermore,the last chapter dwells on women’s resistance inspired by nature,namely their awakening in nature,their employing ecofeminist spiritualities to undermine men’s dual domination,and a reflection on the harshness of the oppressive domination exposed by the tragic endings and the significance of continuing to promote ecofeminist spiritual strategies.In summary,Hardy’s "Romances and Fantasies" not only criticize the patriarchal oppressi ve domination of both nature and women sustained by the logic of domination in nineteenth-century British society,but also demonstrate Hardy’s observation of women’s resourcefulness and wisdom in their struggle against such oppressive domination and the significance of continuing to promote ecofeminist spiritualities for a harmonious relationship to be built among men,women,and nature.