<b>Kareema’s Ecological Self in Salwa Bakr’s “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees”</b> // El ser ecológico de Kareema en “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees” de Salwa Bakr
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2019.10.1.2653Mots-clés :
Ecological self, love of nature, topophilia, environmental ethics, Egyptian patriarchy // Ser ecológico, amor por la naturaleza, topofilia, ética medioambiental, patriarcado egipcioRésumé
This paper deals with “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees”, a short story written in Arabic by Salwa Bakr, the Egyptian critic, novelist and author. The reading I propose is extracted from deep ecology, namely the ecological self. It highlights the self’s identification with nature; opening one’s self up to the multifarious surrounding life forms, even when one lives in an urban setting. I hope to demonstrate that Kareema Fahmi, the protagonist, embodies the ecological self and tries to promote environmental ethics in the various settings in which the events unfold—her neighborhood, her work place, and the asylum she is admitted to. The events of the story also bring to the fore her experience of a marginalized woman in conservative patriarchal Egyptian society. I hope to illustrate how her concern for the quality of life, her love of nature, her love of her city Cairo and her feelings of oneness with the ecosystem, paradoxically, lead to tragic consequences of greater marginalization, and isolation, thus underscoring the cultural specificity of the story at hand. “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees” is unique in its representation of an Egyptian ecological self, that of a sensitive and environmentally conscious but ostracized young woman who desperately struggles to promote environmental ethics, free herself from bondage and assert her individuality in a society where women are silenced.
Resumen
Este ensayo explora “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees”, un relato corto escrito en árabe por Salwa Bakr, autora, novelista y crítica egipcia. Se propone una lectura a partir de la ecología profunda (Deep Ecology), específicamente usando el concepto de "ser ecológico." Este define la identificación del ser con la naturaleza; la apertura de uno mismo a las múltiples formas de vida alrededor, incluso si se vive en un entorno urbano. Este texto pretende demostrar que Kareema Fahmi, la protagonista del texto, personifica el ser ecológico e intenta promover una ética medioambiental en los diversos escenarios en los que se desarrollan los hechos—su barrio, su lugar de trabajo, y el centro en el que es admitida. Los sucesos de la historia también ponen en primer plano la experiencia de una mujer marginalizada en la sociedad patriarcal y conservadora egipcia. Así, se pretende ilustrar cómo su preocupación por la calidad de vida, su amor por la naturaleza, su amor por la ciudad de El Cairo y sus sentimientos de unidad con el ecosistema, paradójicamente, llevan a trágicas consecuencias de una mayor marginalización y aislamiento, enfatizando así la especificidad cultural de la historia en cuestión. “Thirty-one Beautiful Green Trees” es un texto único en su representación del ser ecológico egipcio, el de una joven mujer sensible y medioambientalmente consciente pero aislada, alguien que lucha desesperadamente por promover una ética medioambiental, por liberarse de las ataduras y reivindicar su individualidad en una sociedad en la que las mujeres son silenciadas.
Téléchargements
Téléchargements
Publié-e
Numéro
Rubrique
Licence
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal (CC BY-NC for articles and CC BY-NC-ND for creative work, unless author requests otherwise.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).