Beyond The Barriers Of Anthropocentrism

Joyce Carol Oates (1938-) is an eminent realistic writer in contemporary American literature. During the last decade, her novels aroused the research enthusiasm of both American and Chinese scholars. However, the research on Oates's novels is still in the developing stage, since scholars mainly focus on analyzing the relations between man and society in some of her award-winning novels. This dissertation is to study the relationship between man and nature and human relationships relevant to nature in her nine representative novels. These novels not only run through Oates's major writing stages, most of them have also won important American literary awards. Furthermore, in these novels there contains implications of Oates's thought of ecological ethics in different degrees.With the related non-anthropocentric theories of ecological ethics as the theoretical framework, combining comprehensive analysis and concrete analysis together, this dissertation will give a textual analysis to explore Oates's thought of ecological ethics in her nine novels.Ecological ethics was founded as a philosophical discipline in the early 1970s. It is the study of the ethics of human interactions and impacts on the natural world and the natural system. It consists of two groups:i.e. anthropocentrism and nonanthropocentrism. Anthropocentrism holds a stance that limits moral standing to human beings and confines the scope of morality and moral concern to human interests. For thousands of years anthropocentrism had been the dominant thought in human history. After the 1970s, there emerged nonanthropocentric ethics, which has taken the central place in contemporary ecological ethics. In opposition to anthropocentrism, nonanthropocentrism has extended the sphere of moral care from the human society to the natural world and all the natural beings in the natural world, that is, from animals to all the lives, even the entire ecological system. The representative nonanthropocentric theories include animal liberation/rights theories, biocentrism and ecocentrism. After the 1990s, there emerged some radical theories, such as ecofeminism and ecological justice. Starting from analyzing Oates's thought of ecological ethics, this dissertation is to study her thought of nature care, ecofeminism and ecological justice in her nine novels. It is composed of four chapters.The first chapter is about the sources of Oates's thought of ecological ethics. Oates's thought of ecological ethics is derived from her personal experiences, the American society, the literary tradition and her ethical views of art. Her green life experiences, contemporary Environmental Conservation Movement in America, European and American realistic literary tradition, Henry David Thoreau's thought of naturalistic protection, and Oates's ethical views of aft become the sources of Oates's thought of ecological ethics.The second chapter illustrates Oates's nature care in her five novels. By representing the ten characters'relationship with nature in A Garden of Earthly Delight, Do With Me What You Will, We Were the Mulveneys, Broke Heart Blues, and Middle Age, this chapter first discloses her thought of animal care, then illustrates her thought of respecting nature which she has shown in her novels. Hence, Oates has expressed her thought of caring for nature.The third chapter explores Oates's ecofeminist thought in her four novels. The relationship between nine women characters and nature in A Garden of Earthly Delight, Forxfire, We Were the Mulveneys, Middle Age and Missing Mom are studied. On the one hand, Oates has exhibited the affinity between a group of women and nature aroused by the patriarchal oppression. On the other hand, she has displayed another group of women who rebel against the patriarchal oppression in different degrees. In this way Oates has criticized the patriarchal thought and exhibited her thought of ecofeminism.The fourth chapter analyzes Oates's thought of ecological justice in The Falls. It mainly studies Oates's reflections on the phenomenon of ecological injustice and her promotion of ecological justice. Oates has broken the traditional framework of disclosing the relationship between man and nature in ecological ethics. Combining the ecological problems with ecological injustice caused by the problems of class and politics, Oates has expressed her thought of ecological justice.There are three developing stages in Oates's thought on ecological ethics. The selected nine novels of Oates have witnessed the development of her thought of ecological ethics which has been clearly reflected in her writings. Her nine novels should be classified into the category of ecological novels. She should also be included in the list of ecological writers.Oates is a realistic writer with a strong sense of social responsibility. Facing more and more serious ecological crises, Oates has shown her concern for social problem of ecological conservation in contemporary America in her nine novels. Oates has broken through the barriers of anthropocentricism and exhibited her care of ecological ethics obviously. While noticing the American social problems, Oates hopes to disclose the underside of American society in order to promote its progress. One of Oates's realistic writing features is that she has combined her ecological care with the related social problems in contemporary America. Oates has expressed her thought, i.e. people should be concerned about nature as well as social disadvantaged groups, such as women and the lower classes.This dissertation has made the following contributions to the study of Oates: firstly, it has illustrated Oates's care of ecology exhibited in her novels; secondly, it has revealed the development of Oates's thought on ecological ethics; thirdly, it has pointed out one of the realistic features in Oates's nine novels.