Abstract

Focusing on Jane Urquhart's novel Away and Helen Humphreys's novel Afterimage , and relying primarily on ecofeminist theory, this thesis considers each author's approach to the woman/nature analogy, a metaphoric framework that aligns 'woman' with a debased nature and nonhuman nature with a devalued femininity. Prior to analyzing the novels, a brief overview of the origins, history, methodology, and debates relating to the ecofeminist framework provides the parameters and perspectives for the ensuing discussion. Of central concern is the manner in which the writer negotiates the dualisms shaping the various relevant categories, and an examination of language, desire, knowledge, and power in the novels exposes and highlights the cultural construction of nature. Key areas of interest include: modes of representation, reconceptualizations, disruptions and destabilizations to dualistic structures informing conceptual systems, and alternatives to traditional concepts of culture, nature, species, gender, epistemology, and subjectivity. Finally, the conclusion of this thesis will discuss the overall impact of each author's strategy for dealing with dualisms, and will consider the usefulness of ecofeminist methodology for analyzing texts and for confronting and transforming various representations of 'woman' and 'nature'