Discovering a reenchanted world: an ecofeminist reading of Divakaruni’s The Mistress of Spices

Sofia Cavalcanti

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e98081

Autores

Sofia Cavalcanti University of Macerata https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4130-3691

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2024.e98081

Palavras-chave:

Indian-American literature, The Mistress of Spices, Ecofeminist materialism, Interspecies literature, Feminist magical realism

Resumo

Thought of as attractive and seductive, tales of wonder have traditionally been associated with the female sphere. Often representing women as selfless healers and care-givers due to their privileged link with the natural and supernatural world, myths and legends can easily lend themselves to reinforcing gender stereotypes. This article examines the widely praised magical realist novel The Mistress of Spices (Divakaruni 1997) through an ecofeminist lens proposing it as a counter-example to the problematic representation of women and nature as passive, non-agent, and non-subject entities. Drawing from material ecocriticism and ecofeminist studies, and following a non-anthropocentric approach, the article discusses how the biosemiotics of the book contributes to the “reenchantment” (Griffin 1988) of the natural world and the subsequent empowerment of the woman protagonist. Capable of intentionality, creativity, and effectivity, both the spices and their mistress establish an interspecies bond that eventually breaks the link between gender oppression and exploitation of nature, thus enabling new forms of expression and emancipatory discourses.

Biografia do Autor

Sofia Cavalcanti, University of Macerata

Sofia Cavalcanti is postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Humanities of the University of Macerata and adjunct professor of English Culture and Literature at the Department of Interpreting and Translation of the University of Bologna (Forlì campus). Following a strong interdisciplinary and transnational approach, her research focuses on material culture studies, diaspora and migration, and feminist theory applied to postcolonial women’s writing. Her publications include articles on Jhumpa Lahiri, Arundhati Roy, Anita Nair, feminist diasporic fiction, and transcultural YA fiction. She recently published her first monograph titled Reading Things. Gender and Material Culture in Contemporary Anglophone Women’s Writings (Bologna University Press 2023). Currently, she has been working on a research project concerning gendered representations in modern climate migration fiction and refugee literature.

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