Ecofeminism in Victorian Female Literature

Abstract

Ecofeminism was formally proposed in the 1970s and widely applied to sociology, religion, and political science, and plenty of other disciplines. Indeed, some visionary female writers applied ecofeminism theory to literary writing as early as the Victorian period, with the awakening of female thought. Jane Eyre, a classic work of the period, explores the connection between nature and female consciousness and reveals the tragedy of men mutilating and oppressing women and nature in the 19th century. The novel depicts men's dominance and oppression of nature and women in a way that subverts binary opposition, expressing the author's desire to liberate nature and women, awaken women's self-consciousness, and build an equal and harmonious society.