Sister Nature: Ecofeminism in the Works of Margaret Atwood and Ursula Le Guin

Ecofeminism is a recent strand of theory that encompasses the intersectionality of environmental conservation and feminism in order to establish liberation for all. The theory identifies the connection between women and nature based on shared suffering under masculine domination. Drawing on the works of such authors as Greta Gaard, Linda Vance, and Marti Kheel, I analyze the works of Ursula Le Guin and Margaret Atwood. As I focus on capitalism and the patriarchy, meat consumption in the west, the connection between women and animals, and oppression through reproduction, I demonstrate the contributions of both Le Guin and Atwood to ecofeminism. Ursula Le Guin in her short stories “She Unnames Them” and “Porridge on Islac” and Margaret Atwood in Oryx and Crake use dystopian science fiction to warn readers of a bleak future—should ecofeminist warnings go unheeded. Ecofeminism is an essential aspect of the liberation of both women and nature today, and this thesis argues that a recognition of the connection between the two is necessary in order to establish societal change.