IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Bridging the Divide Between Nature and Society: A Study of Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer

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Aashi Baynes Cynth R B and Dr. J. Chitta

Abstract

As things stand, ecocriticism is a concept that has historically fascinated and captivated phenomenal attention of some of the prominent, zealous monikers in the industry. In addition to the observation and study of the relationship between literature and the environment, ecocriticism highlights the interaction between humans and the various aspects of nature. Consequently, it can be said that the lives of humans are inextricably bound with those of non-humans as well as other fellow humans. This eminent concept is exceptionally explicated by American novelist laureate Barbara Kingsolver, alias the doyenne of ecofeminism. She is acclaimed and honored as a distinguished wordsmith who synthesizes her feminist concerns with ecological belief in her fictions. In one of her chronicled novels titled Prodigal Summer, Kingsolver communicates her profound, enduring love and deference for land and exhibits the interconnectedness of the flora, fauna, and human world. The essence of the fiction is the tale of three characters who reside near Egg Fork, a small town located in Zebulon Valley, in the Southern Appalachian mountain range. In the novel, women are portrayed as conservationist, protecting and preserving the environment and wildlife. Therein, the women discuss regarding the redemption of ecology with their judicious and prudent concepts and acts and recognize the intersectional reality of human and non-human lives. With that in mind, the present study aims at analyzing how the female members of Prodigal Summer sympathize or empathize with the environment and exhibits their relatively greater state of ecological awareness.

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