Ecological Consciousness in Johanna Spyri's Heidi

Abstract

This thesis examines and analyzes Spyri's novel Heidi and explores how she presents nature in an eco-feminine way. As this novel was written in mid- Victorian period, the effects of colonization is seen. This study explores that the nature-mother and hospitality of Heidi including her grandfather, Peter stood healer to Clara Seseman. Feminine traits are normally associated with the idea of beauty, creation, compassion and tolerance but here nature has presented in different way. The speaker in the novel is explicitly or implicitly female who celebrate nature as healer, open-book for the people who can understand the language of nature. The study employs theoretical insights from eco-feminist scholars. It precisely brings in the eco-critical insights developed by Carolyn Merchant and Val Plumwood as theoretical parameters to analyze the relationship between women and nature.