POETIKA ŽIVOTNE SREDINE U ROMANU „BUJNO LETO“ BARBARE KINGSOLVER

Abstract

Primarily, this paper aims to point out the environmental poetics through which other important aspects of the novel are revealed, such as ecological perspectives, the poetics of nature (through various landscapes), and ecofeminism. Barbara Kingsolver places great emphasis on the theme of ecofeminism, which is particularly noticeable in the characterization of the female protagonists – three women who serve as the bearers of the most significant stances on nature protection and environmental conservation. On the other hand, they are contrasted by antipodean male characters responsible for the exploitation of the land and alienation from nature. The analysis of environmental poetics, as one of the novel’s central themes, helps to reveal and observe other disciplines, such as biology (and even biochemistry), geography, and ecology, which are also present and intertwined with literature. It is precisely here that the correlation between the natural, social, and human sciences is observed; their synergy makes this novel exceptionally important because it essentially contains a message about interrelations – the idea that everything is connected, whether it be a material or immaterial part of nature. The novel and all its aspects that we will examine – which unfold before us as readers – encourage us to interpret and understand the various ways in which nature can communicate with the audience. This includes sensory, animalistic, and corporeal aspects where the characters draw closer to life in the wild, as well as to animals, insects, and the earth as entities with which they are in daily contact.