Euphemisms of Existence. Gender, Ecology and History in Fiction (PDF)

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Literature, Works, , language: English, abstract: This is an anthology of essays compiled under the general title Euphemisms of Existence: Gender, Ecology and History in Fiction. This collection consists of several essays concerning gender, ecology and history in the works of selected writers including Amitav Ghosh, Githa Hariharan, Shashi Deshpande and J.M Coetzee.

The fictional corpus of Amitav Ghosh has always been concerned with issues like gender, memories, history and ecology. If we closely analyze the patterns of Ghosh's early and recent works of fiction, we can clearly trace a shift from history and memory to environmental problems and ecology. "The Shadow Lines" (1988) and "The Gun Island" (2019) will serve as a testimony for this statement.

The works of Githa Hariharan and Shashi Deshpande, to a great extent, deals with the issues of gender in patriarchal societies. Most of their characters are drawn from an Indian background and assimilate the plight shared by Indian women. Hariharan's "The Thousand Faces of Night" and Deshpande's "The Dark Holds No Terrors" are discussed here.

J.M Coetzee, a South African Nobel Laureate, in his works deals with the issues of gender in particular and discrimination based on caste, religion, race etc...in general. The essays in this book is an attempt to trace and locate how gender, ecology and history are explored in the works if this selected writers.