Women and Nature in Anita Desai’s Fire on the Mountain: An Ecofeminist Analysis

Abstract

In modern societies, there are countless ways to view nature or environment. In modern-days, industrial practices move human beings away from the nature, so it becomes important to consider the ways in which we connect to our surrounding nature. People from all over the world are suffering from the results of the projects, which progress in today’s industrial society. The way to such type of thinking is offered by the theory of ecocriticism. Ecocriticism deals with concepts such as deep ecology, ecopoetics and ecofeminism. Ecofeminism encourages our interconnectedness with nature. It also addresses the subjugation of women and marginalised people. The recognition of social and environmental injustice is presented bycategorizing women and subjugated people with the environment. The social and environmental issues, which are not separate, are the central tenets of Ecofeminism. So, the mistreatment of women, people of color and environment stem from the same place. Anita Desai is one of the India’s foremost writers. There are varieties of ways to analyse and to look at Anita Desai’s works. Anita Desai portrays something universal and greater by using ordinary and everyday activities. Her novel Fire on the Mountain (1977), won the National Academy of
Letters Award in 1977, and The Sahitya Academy Award in 1978. The novel Fire on the Mountain depicts the darker aspects of women as well as the darker shades of nature. It also concerned with the parallel victimization and domination of women and nature