An Ecocritical Reading of Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal Dreams and Prodigal Summer

Abstract

This research attempts a close reading of Barbra Kingsolver’s econovels namely, Animal Dreams (1990) and Prodigal Summer (2000), using an ecocritical approach in addition to other critical theories with which ecocriticism intersects like Bakhtinian dialogics (dialogic interaction), feminism, post colonialism and literary trauma theory. The two novels show women struggles to save nature. These novels are environmentally conscious texts which make explicit statements about environmental issues, such as: water river contamination, the misuse of the pesticides and species extinction. In these novels, Kingsolver seeks to reject the human/ nature, culture/nature, woman/nature dualism. Animal Dreams and Prodigal Summer emphasize one of the basic concepts in the field of ecocriticism which is the concept of interconnectedness. Moreover, both novels depict the exploitation and degradation of the natural world. Further, both novels underline a concern about the impact of human activities on the non-human world.