Ecofeminist Interpretation Of Alice Munro’s Regional Fiction ——A Case Study Of "Flats Road" And "Boys And Girls"

Alice Munro（1931-）is a famous Canadian female writer,laureate of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature,known for her expertise in short story writing.In her works,she uses simple words to depict serious topics such as growing up,marriage and friendship.Included in Lives of Girls and Women and Dance of the Happy Shades respectively,“Flats Road” and “Boys and Girls” are typical short stories of Munro’s works with Canadian regional characteristics.This thesis selects these two short stories as the research objects,focusing on the depiction of women,animals,and the natural environment of Canada in Munro’s works,clarifies the internal relationship between regional narrative works and ecofeminism,so as to further study Munro’s thoughts on the relationship between human beings and nature,especially the relationship between women and nature.“Flats Road” and “Boys and Girls” share great similarities in terms of story settings and character relationships as well as thematic connotations,and can be seen as an attempt on rewriting her own work.The two works tell the growing experience and life insight of the daughter of a silver fox breeder in the small town of Jubilee,Ontario from different focuses.Therefore,this thesis provides an intertextual interpretation of Munro’s two works with Canadian regional characteristics from an ecofeminist perspective through a close reading of the text with the theories of Beauvoir,Adams,and Gaad,Buell,Plumwood,etc.This thesis presents a three-pronged interpretation of Munro’s works:firstly,interpreting the female figures in her works and analyzing the way Munro presents the status of the female Other;secondly,interpreting the metaphor of animal imagery and analyzing how Munro establishes a connection between animals and women in oppressed positions;finally,focusing on Munro’s regional narratives and analyzing their significance in dissolving the contradiction of dichotomies.The interpretation of the works reveals that both regional works contain strong ecofeminist ideas,but take different approaches to the portrayal of the oppressed Other.Through regional narratives,Munro constructs a concept of place with both natural and social properties,and consequently exposes the close connection between all Others.The interpretation of Alice Munro’s regional fiction from an ecofeminist perspective provides a way of thinking to dissolve the widely existing dichotomy and demonstrates its ability to clarify the common logic of oppression and unite all oppressed Others,showing that ecofeminism can play its own role in resolving social events,helping to promote social harmony,uphold fairness and justice,and create a beautiful world in which people and nature coexist in harmony.