Writing the World: Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood’s Literary Contributions to Ecofeminism

Department

English

Additional Departmental Affiliation

Diversity and Community Studies

Authors

Melissa Messer, Western Kentucky University

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Along with the philosophical writings of ecofeminism’s greatest proponents and critics, the growth of ecofeminist philosophy has relied heavily on fiction writers. The term ecofeminism was coined in 1975, and the following year ecofeminism found fertile ground for exploration and growth in March Peircy’s science fiction novel, Woman on the Edge of Time (1976). The social, academic, and literary trends leading up to the emergence of ecofeminism, however, began well before 1975. Both Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood are speculative fiction authors whose work before and after 1975 examines important ecofeminist topics and contributes to the growth of ecofeminist discussion. This thesis traces ecofeminist philosophy in Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) and The Dispossessed (1974), and Atwood’s Surfacing (1972) and Oryx and Crake (2003) in an effort to explore the roots of the ecofeminist literary movement, examine its connection with and growth through speculative fiction, and gain insight into the roots of a movement which has important implications in an environmentally controversial future. Le Guin and Atwood are precocious ecofeminist authors whose early works handle topics such as technology, gender, demilitarization, ahistory, and the domination of both land and people. Because these matters are the founding issues of contemporary ecofeminism, an analysis of these authors provides context for where ecofeminism came from and where we can expect it to go.

Disciplines

Creative Writing | Environmental Public Health | Feminist Philosophy | Women's Studies

Recommended Citation

Messer, Melissa, "Writing the World: Ursula K. Le Guin and Margaret Atwood’s Literary Contributions to Ecofeminism" (2007). Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects. Paper 114.
https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/stu_hon_theses/114