An Eco-Feminist Interpretation Of Elizabeth Gaskell’s Ruth

As one of the most important realistic writers in the Victorian Age,Elizabeth Gaskell（1810-1865）has attracted much attention for tactfully approaching the tough issues of women and industrialized society in her works.Through the panoramic portrait of different strata’s lives in her novels,Gaskell expresses her thoughts and plea which embody her profound feminine and ecological consciousness.Actually,taken as the first social novel which pays particular attention to fallen women in the Victorian society,Ruth deeply conveys Gaskell’s eco-feminist consciousness.On one hand,by portraying the characters like Ruth,Jemima and Sally who are prejudiced as the other owing to gender dualism,Gaskell reveals the domination of male over female and discloses the hypocrisy of the male-centrism and related system.On the other hand,Gaskell’s strong ecological concern is also perceived in her Ruth.Gaskell reveals that it is the prevailing human-centredness that refuses to affirm continuity of human to nature,and constructs nature instrumentally,which gives rise to the deterioration of natural environment and the outbreak of epidemic.Thus,under the guidance of Val Plumwood’s eco-feminism,this thesis attempts to probe into the plight of nature and women and to explore its root so as to interpret Gaskell’s eco-feminist consciousness.This thesis consists of three parts: introduction,the main body and conclusion.Introduction Part briefly introduces Elizabeth Gaskell and her novel Ruth,presents the literature review and elaborates the theoretical basis of this study and its main framework in detail.The main body is made up of three chapters.Chapter One mainly focuses on the dualised other,nature and women.Human as the Master constructs nature instrumentally,and men as the Master confine women to an inferiorised sphere,which functions to naturalize his domination over the other.By dissecting the predicaments and oppression of nature and women,the novelist argues that anthropocentrism and androcentrism are to blame for the deterioration of environment and the loss of identity.Chapter Two further explores the outcry of nature and women in Ruth.Human as the Master attempts to eliminate the continuity with nature and seeks to obscure the great contribution nature has made.Thus,nature takes actions to deal with those various forms of oppression,aiming at regaining human’s respect.Meanwhile,three representative female characters in Ruth succeed to abandon dualised identity deeply inscribed with the ideology of the Victorian society,and to critically reconstruct woman identity and feminine-associated characteristics.Chapter Three mainly discusses the feasible routes for nature and women to get out of the dilemma.Only by dismantling the dualistic social system can the oppression of nature and women be eliminated and can the harmonious world be rebuilt.Finally,based on the analyses in the previous chapters,the conclusion is drawn that in her novel Ruth Gaskell shares many common ideas with Val Plumwood’s critical ecological feminism,conveying her strong eco-feminist consciousness.Gaskell emphasizes that the resolution of dualism requires not only recognizing continuity and difference,but also providing a depth concern for the other.Briefly speaking,with the guidance of Val Plumwood’s eco-feminism,the author draws a conclusion that Gaskell’s keen insight into the sufferings and struggles of nature and women in Ruth is thought-provoking,which exhibits her earnest concern over the crises that both nature and humans have to face.Besides,her profound eco-feminist consciousness fully illustrated in Ruth will bring forth the hope of eliminating dualised identity and rebuilding a harmonious world between nature and humans.Thus,this study may enlighten to examine the dilemma of the other and help to find out the feasible ways of eliminating domination and oppression.