Gendered Ecologies : New Materialist Interpretations of Women Writers in the Long Nineteenth Century

Gendered Ecologies: New Materialist Interpretations of Women Writers in the Long Nineteenth Century considers the value of interrelationships that exist among human, nonhuman species, and inanimate objects as part of the environment in the work of a diversity of nineteenth-century female writers. The collection engages with current paradigms of thought influencing the field of ecocriticism and, more specifically, ecofeminism. Various theories are featured, informing interpretation of literary and non-literary material, which include Anthropocene feminism, feminist geography, neo-materialism, object-oriented ontology, panarchy, and trans-corporeality. In particular, neo-materialism becomes a means by which to examine literary and non-literary content by women writers with attention to the materiality of objects as the aim of inquiry. “A fresh and invigorating contribution to the field of environmental humanities. . . The ‘diversity’ of the collection allows for a picture to emerge here of the many, complex, and fascinating engagements with natural history made by women writers during the long nineteenth century.” —Penny Bradshaw, Green Letters “This collection is very impressive, offering insightful new readings of British and American women authors from the perspective of new materialism.. . . [T]hese essays expand the conception of what constitutes scientific writing in the long nineteenth century and recognizes the contributions of these women writers for the first time.” —Ronald D. Morrison, Pacific Coast Philology "Gendered Ecologies: New Materialist Interpretations of Women Writers in the Long Nineteenth Century considers the value of interrelationships that exist among human, nonhuman species, and inanimate objects as part of the environment, and features observations by women writers as recorded in nature diaries, poetry, bildungsroman, sensational fiction, philosophical fiction, and folklore. In addition, the edition aims to present a case for transnational women writers who have been involved in participating in the discourse of natural philosophy from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. The collection engages with current paradigms of thought influencing the field of ecocriticism and, more specifically, ecofeminism. Various theories are featured, informing interpretation of literary and non-literary material, which include Anthropocene feminism, feminist geography, neo-materialism, object-oriented ontology, panarchy, and trans-corporeality. In particular, neo-materialism and trans-corporeality are guiding principles of the collection, providing theoretical coherence. Neo-materialism becomes a means by which to examine literary and non-literary content by women writers with attention to the materiality of objects as the aim of inquiry. Regarding trans-corporeality, contributors provide evidence of the interrelations between the body-as-matter and animate beings along with inanimate entities. Together, neo-materialism and trans-corporeality drive the edition, as contributors contemplate the significance of interactions among human, nonhuman, organic, and inanimate objects." Cover 1 Contents 7 Illustrations 9 Acknowledgments 11 Foreword 13 Introduction 19 Part I: British Female Voices 33 1. The “vast prison” of the World: Counter-Anthropocenes in the Works of Mary Shelley 35 2. Beyond the Bower: The Garden, the Tower, and the Fate of the Embowered Woman 53 3. A Space of “unwonted liberty and pleasure”: Charlotte Brontë’s Treatment of Gardens in the Bildungsromans of Jane Eyre and Lucy Snowe 73 4. The Place of Objects: The Female Body, Nature, and Entanglement in Jane Eyre and The Mill on the Floss 93 5. The Manifold Ecologies of Lady Audley’s Secret 109 Part II: American Female Voices 129 6. Ecocultural Contact and the Panarchy of Place: Jane Johnston Schoolcraft and Margaret Fuller in the Great Lakes 131 7. Beyond the Binary: Transforming Ecologies in Susan Fenimore Cooper’s Rural Hours and Celia Thaxter’s Among the Isle of Shoals 151 8. Ants Become Giants: Laura Ingalls’s Pioneering Perspective in the Little House Books 169 9. Animating Athens: Frances Wright and Lydia Maria Child’s Hellenic Haunts 183 10. Toward A Political Ecology in Lydia Maria Child’s “Chocorua’s Curse” 203 Afterword 219 Contributors 225 Notes 231 Index 267 "Gendered Ecologies considers the value of interrelationships that exist among human, nonhuman species, and inanimate objects, featuring observations by women writers as recorded in texts. The book presents a case for transnational women writers, participating in the discourse of natural philosophy from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries"-- Provided by publisher 'Gendered Ecologies' considers the value of interrelationships that exist among human, nonhuman species, and inanimate objects, featuring observations by women writers as recorded in texts. The edition presents a case for transnational women writers, participating in the discourse of natural philosophy from the late eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries