Nature as Woman: An Ecofeminist Reading of A.K.Ramanujan's A Flowering Tree

Abstract

Ecofeminism in English literature examines the intersections between feminism and environmentalism, particularly how patriarchal, capitalist, and colonial structures simultaneously devalue and oppress both women and nature. Through the lens of ecofeminist theory, it highlights the inextricable link between gender and ecological injustice, foregrounding themes such as the interconnectedness of oppression, critique of patriarchy, re-evaluation of nature, and the symbolic relationship between gender and the environment. In Indian English literature, writers such as Sugatha Kumari and Mamang Dai have vividly depicted women’s suffering alongside the degradation of nature, thereby reinforcing the ecofeminist perspective. A. K. Ramanujan’s translation of the Kannada folktale  A Flowering Tree (published in his 1997 collection  A Flowering Tree and Other Oral Tales from India) provides a fertile ground for ecofeminist analysis. The narrative foregrounds the entanglement of women and nature within patriarchal societies, offering critical insights into how both are objectified, controlled, and exploited. By situating women’s bodies and their connection to the natural world as contested sites of power, the tale problematises entrenched gender hierarchies while simultaneously critiquing environmental exploitation. Thus, Ramanujan’s retelling underscores ecofeminism’s central concern: that the domination of women and the destruction of nature are not isolated phenomena but mutually reinforcing manifestations of systemic oppression.