Description
According to the tenets of ecofeminism, there are explicit connections between society's treatment of women and the degradation of our environment, connections made apparent in the patriarchal devaluation of both women and nature. In Speaking for Nature, a groundbreaking inquiry into the contributions of early modern English women writers to ecological thought, Sylvia Bowerbank uncovers the historical roots of contemporary debates within ecofeminism as found in the works of such major literary figures as Mary Wroth, Margaret Cavendish, and Mary Wollstonecraft.
In early modern England, the entry of women into the politics of nature occurred during a volatile period when the cultural meaning of nature was being destabilized by scientific advances and religious controversies, thus opening up new rights, roles, and responsibilities for women. For the two centuries covered in this book, Bowerbank describes a range of choices made by literary women in negotiating their place within the broader discourse on nature and humanity's changing relationship to it. We learn about Wroth's gendered critique of pastoral fantasies and green utopias, Cavendish's resistance to the philosophy that declared "Great Nature" dead, and Wollstonecraft's opposition to both world capitalism and local subsistence. Anna Seward champions the local as a site of environmental well-being and the eighteenth-century invention of "the study of nature" as a legitimate field of intellectual inquiry. Speaking for Nature explores this rich, diverse, and often contradictory legacy of ecological thought, the value of which is only just being appreciated and evaluated by present-day environmentalists and feminists.Reviews
"Combines in-depth eruditeness, innovative approaches, and a passionate, political commitment. This book is a crucial recovery of early modern women's contributions to ecological thought as well as a highly interesting addition to current ecofeminist debates."—Nina Lykke, Linköping University"Sylvia Bowerbank's engaged study melds the concerns of a contemporary ecofeminism with literary scholarship. Ecologists will encounter a rich history of writings and activities by early modern women who brought critical perspectives to bear on ideas about nature. Students of women's writing will meet familiar figures in new guises as Bowerbank puts her ear to how authors as diverse as Mary Wroth, Sarah Scott, Anna Seward, and Mary Wollstonecraft 'speak for nature.' Bowerbank's ecological sensibility brings past and present together in an evocative historical amalgam."—Ann B. Shteir, York University "Speaking for Nature is a rich and original study which invites reflection about the meaning of 'Nature' in the western cultural tradition. Sylvia Bowerbank takes her readers on a journey through texts, time, and land. She discusses both the physical landscapes of the past and present, and the moral issues involved in thinking about how the land has been apprehended. Bowerbank is learned and profoundly reflective about the meaning of literature and landscape for us now. She writes with elegance and assurance. Her wonderful book reads like an engaging conversation, one which will continue to occupy the reader's thoughts."—Patricia Crawford, University of Western Australia "This beautifully written, skillfully argued book is cultural history at its best. By demonstrating the historical interactions between gender and ecological consciousness, Bowerbank sheds new light on both gender history and the history of science and technology. Speaking for Nature is not merely an original contribution to scholarship, it is a fascinating and illuminating work which offers valuable insights into present-day ecological concerns."—Sara Mendelson, McMaster University "Bowerbank's passion for her own ecological agenda in no way detracts from the sophistication of her argument. The issue underlying the book—how best to live in harmony with the resources of our planet—remains urgently important."—Studies in English Literature "A ground-breaking contribution to the history of women's ecological thought."—Edith Snook, University of Toronto Quarterly "Provides a rich and troubling legacy of ideas for environmental and feminist scholars alike to ponder."—Isis "The historical and philosophical depth of her work, however, takes it beyond the alluring myths of women's special natural wisdom . . . Fascinating range and detail."—Kate McLuskie, Modern Language Review "Rich and thought-provoking study . . . An ambitious attempt to read the environment responses of the past from a position of deep sensitivity to the contexts and contingencies of her texts."—Julie Sanders, Modern Philology "Sylvia Bowerbank spent her last years writing a thoughtful and stirring book — it's a fine legacy, and, for us, an important one."—JMay, Eighteenth-Century Intelligencer "This is a rich and richly documented book."—Valerija Vendramin, Early Modern Literary Studies
Author Information
Sylvia Bowerbank is a professor of English at McMaster University.
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