Surfacing: A Study Of Environmentalism And Self- Discovery

Abstract

Ecofeminists hold the belief that patriarchal society’s values and beliefs have resulted in the oppression of both women and nature. Margaret Atwood’s novel Surfacing, published in 1972, can adequately be defined in this light. In this paper I have tried to show how the nameless protagonist of the novel has discovered her true identity, her real self by establishing a connection between her wounded self and the damaged landscape of the island near the border country in Quebec, and how she finally turns herself from victim to hero, turning patriarchal space inside out so that it no longer can limit her being. At the same time this paper also addresses the issues, with reference to Surfacing, pertaining to women and nature and shows how social sciences like literature can develop
environmental-friendly generations