Title: Snapshots of the California desert, sketches of the British Columbia rainforest : an ecofeminist reading of Mary Austin's and Emily Carr's short prose
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2005, vol. 5, iss. [1], pp. [91]-99
Extent
[91]-99
-
ISSN1213-7715 (print)2336-4556 (online)
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/116011
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
Viewed from an ecofeminist perspective, three connecting points can be identified in Austin's and Carr's short prose. Firstly, both authors employ a first-person female narrator who directly addresses the reader, recording what she has experienced and inscribing the remote western regions with female presence. Secondly, this partially autobiographical narrator functions as a field guide, describing with scientific accuracy and in photographic detail the multilayered natural rhythms of the place. Thirdly, the narrator interacts with the local inhabitants, chronicling their multifaceted stories. These parallels point at the authors' shared resolve to promote conservation of non-industrialized lands, to participate in the preservation of North American native arts, and to advance the transformation of gender relations. Moreover, by stressing the geographical as well as cultural diversity of their regions, the authors redefine the boundaries of their respective national literatures and national identities.
Du point de vue de la perspective écoféministe, trois points de liaison peuvent être identifiés dans les proses courtes d'Austin et de Carr. Premièrement, les deux auteurs utilisent une femme-narrateur écrivant à la premiére personne qui s'adresse directement au lecteur, enregistrant ce qu'elle a vécu et inscrivant au sein des régions lointaines de l'Ouest une presence féminine. Deuxièmement, ce narrateur partiellement autobiographique assume le rôle d'un guide de champ qui, avec une exactitude scientifique et sur un détail photographique, décrit les rythmes de la nature locale. Troisièmement, le narrateur communique avec les habitants locaux, en faisant la chronique de leurs histoires à multiples facettes. Ces parallèles montrent la résolution partagée de prôner la conservation des contrées non industrialisées, de participer à la preservation des arts indigènes de l'Amérique du Nord et d'avancer la transformation des relations du genre. De plus, en mettant en relief la diversité géographique et culturelle de leurs régions, les auteurs redéfinissent les frontières de leurs littératures nationales respectives et de leurs identités nationales.
References
[1] Austin, Mary. The Land of Little Rain. 1903. New York: Ballantine, 1971.
[2] Austin, Mary. Lost Borders. 1909. Rpt. In Stories from the Country of Lost Borders. Ed. and intro. Marjorie Pryse. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987.
[3] Brown, Richard Maxwell. "The New Regionalism in America, 1970-1981". Regionalism and the Pacific Northwest. Ed.William G. Robbins, Robert J. Frank, Richard E. Ross. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1983. 37-96.
[4] Campbell, Sue Ellen. "The Land and Language of Desire: Where Deep Ecology and Post Structuralism Meet". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) 124-138.
[5] Carr, Emily. The Heart of a Peacock. 1953. Rpt. In The Complete Writings of Emily Carr. Intro. Doris Shadbolt. Vancouver: Douglas, 1993.
[6] Carr, Emily. Klee Wyck. 1941. Toronto: Clarke, 1971.
[7] Comer, Krista. "Feminism, Women Writers and the New Western Regionalism: Revising Critical Paradigms". Updating the Literary West. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1997. 17-34.
[8] d'Eaubonne, Francoise. Ecologie feminisme: Révolution ou mutation? Paris: Les Editions A.T.P., 1978.
[9] d'Eaubonne, Francoise. Le Feminisme ou la mort. Paris: Femmesen Mouvement, 1974.
[10] Diamond, Irene and Orenstein, Gloria Feman. Introduction. Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) ix-xv.
[11] Diamond, Irene and Orenstein, Gloria Feman (eds.). Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1990.
[12] Finch, Robert and Elder, John (eds.). Nature Writing: The Tradition in English. New York: Norton, 1990.
[13] Gates, Barbara T. "A Root of Ecofeminism: Ecoféminismé". Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy. Ed. Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. 15-22.
[14] Glotfelty, Cheryll. "Introduction: Literary Studies in an Age of Environmental Crisis". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) xv-xxxvii.
[15] Glotfelty, Cheryll and Fromm, Harold (eds.). The Ecocritical Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.
[16] Hardesty, Donald L. "Ethnographic Landscapes: Transforming Nature into Culture". Preserving Cultural Landscapes in America. Ed. Arnold R. Alanen and Robert Z. Melnick. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 169-185.
[17] Inness, Sherrie A. and Royer, Diana. Introduction. Breaking Boundaries: New Perspectives on Women's Regional Writing. Ed. Sherrie A. Inness and Diana Royer. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1997. 1-16.
[18] Jordan, David. Regionalism Reconsidered: New Approaches to the Field. New York: Garland, 1994.
[19] Karell, Linda K. "Lost Borders and Blurred Boundaries: Mary Austin as Storyteller". American Women Short Story Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Julie Brown. New York: Garland, 2000. 153-166.
[20] Kelly, Ursula. Marketing Place: Cultural Politics, Regionalism and Reading. Halifax: Femwood, 1993.
[21] King, Ynestra. "Healing the Wounds: Feminism, Ecology, and the Nature/Culture Dualism". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 106-121.
[22] Lyon, Thomas J. "A Taxonomy of Nature Writing". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) 276-281.
[23] Lyon, Thomas J.,(ed.). This Incomperable Lande: A Book of American Nature Writing. 1989. New York: Penguin, 1991.
[24] Merchant, Carolyn. "Ecofeminism and Feminist Theory". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 100-105.
[25] Melnick, Robert Z. "Considering Nature and Culture in Historic Landscape Preservation". Preserving Cultural Landscapes in America. Ed. Arnold R. Alanen and Robert Z. Melnick. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 22-43.
[26] Miller, Jim Wayne. "Anytime the Ground Is Uneven: The Outlook for Regional Studies and What to Look Out for". Geography and Literature: A Meeting of the Disciplines. Ed. William E. Mallory and Paul Simpson-Housley. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1987. 1-20.
[27] Murphy, Patrick D. Literature, Nature, and Other: Ecofeminist Critiques. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995.
[28] New, W. H. Land Sliding: Imagining Space, Presence, and Power in Canadian Writing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
[29] Rimstead, Roxanne. "Klee Wyck: Redefining Region through Marginal Realities". Canadian Literature 130 (1991): 29-59.
[30] Robbins, William G. "Complexity and Regional Narratives". The Great Northwest: The Search for Regional Identity. Ed. William G. Robbins. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2001. 1-11.
[31] Schama, Simon. Landscape and Memory. New York: Knopf, 1995.
[32] Spretnak, Charlene. "Ecofeminism: Our Roots and Flowering". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 3-14.
[33] Warren, Karen J. "The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism". Environmental Ethics 12 (1990): 125-146. | DOI 10.5840/enviroethics199012221
[34] Winks, Robin W. "Regionalism in Comparative Perspective". Regionalism and the Pacific Nortwest. Ed. William G. Robbins, Robert J. Frank, Richard E. Ross. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1983. 13-36.
[35] Yaeger, Patricia. "Introduction: Narrating Space". The Geography of Identity. Ed. Patricia Yaeger. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 1-38.
[2] Austin, Mary. Lost Borders. 1909. Rpt. In Stories from the Country of Lost Borders. Ed. and intro. Marjorie Pryse. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1987.
[3] Brown, Richard Maxwell. "The New Regionalism in America, 1970-1981". Regionalism and the Pacific Northwest. Ed.William G. Robbins, Robert J. Frank, Richard E. Ross. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1983. 37-96.
[4] Campbell, Sue Ellen. "The Land and Language of Desire: Where Deep Ecology and Post Structuralism Meet". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) 124-138.
[5] Carr, Emily. The Heart of a Peacock. 1953. Rpt. In The Complete Writings of Emily Carr. Intro. Doris Shadbolt. Vancouver: Douglas, 1993.
[6] Carr, Emily. Klee Wyck. 1941. Toronto: Clarke, 1971.
[7] Comer, Krista. "Feminism, Women Writers and the New Western Regionalism: Revising Critical Paradigms". Updating the Literary West. Fort Worth: Texas Christian University Press, 1997. 17-34.
[8] d'Eaubonne, Francoise. Ecologie feminisme: Révolution ou mutation? Paris: Les Editions A.T.P., 1978.
[9] d'Eaubonne, Francoise. Le Feminisme ou la mort. Paris: Femmesen Mouvement, 1974.
[10] Diamond, Irene and Orenstein, Gloria Feman. Introduction. Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) ix-xv.
[11] Diamond, Irene and Orenstein, Gloria Feman (eds.). Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism. San Francisco: Sierra Club, 1990.
[12] Finch, Robert and Elder, John (eds.). Nature Writing: The Tradition in English. New York: Norton, 1990.
[13] Gates, Barbara T. "A Root of Ecofeminism: Ecoféminismé". Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy. Ed. Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998. 15-22.
[14] Glotfelty, Cheryll. "Introduction: Literary Studies in an Age of Environmental Crisis". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) xv-xxxvii.
[15] Glotfelty, Cheryll and Fromm, Harold (eds.). The Ecocritical Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996.
[16] Hardesty, Donald L. "Ethnographic Landscapes: Transforming Nature into Culture". Preserving Cultural Landscapes in America. Ed. Arnold R. Alanen and Robert Z. Melnick. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 169-185.
[17] Inness, Sherrie A. and Royer, Diana. Introduction. Breaking Boundaries: New Perspectives on Women's Regional Writing. Ed. Sherrie A. Inness and Diana Royer. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1997. 1-16.
[18] Jordan, David. Regionalism Reconsidered: New Approaches to the Field. New York: Garland, 1994.
[19] Karell, Linda K. "Lost Borders and Blurred Boundaries: Mary Austin as Storyteller". American Women Short Story Writers: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Julie Brown. New York: Garland, 2000. 153-166.
[20] Kelly, Ursula. Marketing Place: Cultural Politics, Regionalism and Reading. Halifax: Femwood, 1993.
[21] King, Ynestra. "Healing the Wounds: Feminism, Ecology, and the Nature/Culture Dualism". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 106-121.
[22] Lyon, Thomas J. "A Taxonomy of Nature Writing". Glotfelty and Fromm, (eds.) 276-281.
[23] Lyon, Thomas J.,(ed.). This Incomperable Lande: A Book of American Nature Writing. 1989. New York: Penguin, 1991.
[24] Merchant, Carolyn. "Ecofeminism and Feminist Theory". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 100-105.
[25] Melnick, Robert Z. "Considering Nature and Culture in Historic Landscape Preservation". Preserving Cultural Landscapes in America. Ed. Arnold R. Alanen and Robert Z. Melnick. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. 22-43.
[26] Miller, Jim Wayne. "Anytime the Ground Is Uneven: The Outlook for Regional Studies and What to Look Out for". Geography and Literature: A Meeting of the Disciplines. Ed. William E. Mallory and Paul Simpson-Housley. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1987. 1-20.
[27] Murphy, Patrick D. Literature, Nature, and Other: Ecofeminist Critiques. New York: State University of New York Press, 1995.
[28] New, W. H. Land Sliding: Imagining Space, Presence, and Power in Canadian Writing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1997.
[29] Rimstead, Roxanne. "Klee Wyck: Redefining Region through Marginal Realities". Canadian Literature 130 (1991): 29-59.
[30] Robbins, William G. "Complexity and Regional Narratives". The Great Northwest: The Search for Regional Identity. Ed. William G. Robbins. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2001. 1-11.
[31] Schama, Simon. Landscape and Memory. New York: Knopf, 1995.
[32] Spretnak, Charlene. "Ecofeminism: Our Roots and Flowering". Diamond and Orenstein, (eds.) 3-14.
[33] Warren, Karen J. "The Power and the Promise of Ecological Feminism". Environmental Ethics 12 (1990): 125-146. | DOI 10.5840/enviroethics199012221
[34] Winks, Robin W. "Regionalism in Comparative Perspective". Regionalism and the Pacific Nortwest. Ed. William G. Robbins, Robert J. Frank, Richard E. Ross. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 1983. 13-36.
[35] Yaeger, Patricia. "Introduction: Narrating Space". The Geography of Identity. Ed. Patricia Yaeger. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996. 1-38.