Abstract
MRS. GASKELL'S NORTH AND SOUTH AS PRECURSOR ECOFEMINIST NOVEL
Ecofeminist literary criticism is one of the growing fields. It maintains tracing ecofeminist ethics in contemporary literary works. Nevertheless, its interest in the classical text grows recently. The novel North and South is one of the classics of English Victorian literature. Earlier readings assess the novel as an industrial novel. It explores the female's roles, class division, and the possibility of women's emancipation. The paper, however, is a rereading of Mrs Gaskell's North and South through ecofeminist lenses. By applying the ecofeminist theory to the novel, the paper finds that the novel can be considered a precursor to the ecofeminist novels. The paper displays how subtly the author tries to subvert the Western dualism and hierarchy, which are the central pedestals of human and nature persecution. Through the social network, whose core is Margaret- the protagonist-, the author displays the condemned persecution people suffer under the patriarchal and capitalist regimes. Besides, on the characters' tongues, the author also disseminates ethics of care, interconnectedness, and plurality. The novel displays the symbiotic relationship of social classes from one side and man and nature from the other.
Keywords
Mrs. Gaskell's, North and South, Victorian Novel, Ecofeminism, Working class, Capitalism, Woman, Nat
