Ecofeminist Reading of J.G. Ballard’s the Drowned World

Abstract

This paper attempts to find Ecofeminist elements  in  The Drowned world, a novel written by J.G. Ballard published in 1962 which was the time where there was no such theory called Ecocriticism or nature writing was evolved and spoken about.  Interestingly the author presents a dystopian world in which nature’s balance is lost, world is becoming just a water body, human and other mammals extinct, only reptiles extant.  The dominant presence of reptiles make the characters feel so disgusting and the human community had to face many difficulties along with the ecological collapse.  The major characters those who still believe in technology try to find a solution with the help of technology. The novel ends with nature’s triumph and human fail in their attempt to win over the nature.  This article shall focus on the Ecofeminist elements present in the novel and interpret the novel under Nature Ecofeminist perspective with particular reference to Beatrice Dhal the only woman character in the novel. She is remarkable, nature like and shares a lot of characteristics of nature. Her interconnectedness with nature provides considerable similarities with Ecofeminist ideologies. Hence the research paper shall focus on the character of Beatrice Dhal and her innate connection to her environment. This article shall be an analytical research with reference to the data available in the internet and from the books relevant to this study.