The Surviving Nature: An Ecofeminist Study of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

Subject Areas :

Farhoodeh Naghdibak ¹ , Shahram Afrougheh ² , Fatemeh AzizMohammadi ³

1 - English Department, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran
2 - English Department, Borujerd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Borujerd, Iran
3 - English Department, Arak Branch, Islamic Azad University, Arak, Iran

Received: 2023-01-13 Accepted : 2023-08-25 Published : 2023-10-01

Keywords: nature, Social ecology, Ecofeminism, Feminism, Cultural ecology, Spiritual Ecology,

Abstract :

The aim of the present study is to investigate McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses which revolves around the relationship between John and nature with a focus on the horses. Different aspects of the novel including social, cultural, and spiritual ecology are studied. In ecocriticism, the otherness of nature is one of the main themes that signifies the gap between humanity and nature that eventually results in the destruction of the environment and nature. This study also shows how the main characters, John and Alejandra, are linked in the novel which turns the present study to an ecofeminist research. The novel mostly depicts the image of John wandering in nature and searching for his identity, to be punished. Therefore, the researcher scrutinizes the link between John, nature and Alejandra and tries to examine how the novel shows similar attitudes towards both women and nature in All the Pretty Horses.

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