A Critical Study of the Man-Eater of Malgudi from Ecofeminist Perspectives

Abstract

This article attempts to analyze how R.K. Narayan’s The Man-Eater of Malgudi draws a polyphonic picture about woman, life, and the nature of Malgudi from an ecofeminist perspective. It attempts to explore how the theory of ecofeminism that was originally hypothesized in the West is echoed in Narayan’s novel The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961) based on an Indian setting. This work is an attempt to evaluate and analyze the roles and positions of women and nature that philosophically and phenomenally resembles each other in The Man-Eater of Malgudi with an ecofeminist approach. Ecofeminism or ecological feminism is now very valid in the academic and literary world. The present paper examines the selected novel under the lens of oriental view towards woman and nature where both are closely associated with each other. Women are victims of degradation, domination, and exploitation, yet they play the role to bring ecological harmony and sustainability. The way Rangi, though oppressed by patriarchy, attempts to save the elephant; Kumar mirrors the purpose of eco-feminism; to create a balance in nature by establishing an inter-cooperative, consistent and unbiased relationship with all creatures of the world irrespective of gender, class, and color. The interrelationship and inter-connectivity between woman and nature are strongly highlighted in this paper through the character Rangi who dismisses Vasu’s anti-ecological ventures.