Ecofeminism in Atwood's Surfacing

The most important problem that an individual faces today is the demotion of land and environment and its consequences on human presence. In this conditions the term Ecofeminism becomes highly relevant. This paper attempts to take an in-depth study of Margaret Atwood's Surfacing (1972) from an ecofeminist mindset. Within this text, power and domination, directly afflict both the womanly world and the natural world. The nameless idol of the story is an ecofeminist who returns to the undeveloped island, Northern Quebec, where she grew up, to search for her missing father. The protagonist realizes the gap between her natural inside her and her artificial construction only when she encounters true nature at most. The ecofeminist impact is seen implicit in the novel by the protagonist's return to the natural world. Her association with nature raises her awareness of deception of women. Like a true ecologist, she makes the earth her literal home which she knows that in the natural world all life is inter-related, brimming with diversity and complexity. Since the novel introduces issue pertaining to feminism and environmentalism, the novel constitutes a representative literary example of ecological feminism. Even the language, events and characters in this novel reflect a world that oppresses and dominates both femininity and nature.