
The Criterion: An International Journal in English
World Literature
Reclaiming Self through Nature: Ecofeminist Consciousness in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing
Abstract
On exploring Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing (1972), this article reads the work through the ecocritical lens of ecofeminism: mind, body, and spirit for the unnamed first-person narrator lead from alienation and disconnection toward redemption in self/nature. The critique of forms of patriarchal ideology that exploit and oppress both women and the earth is potent in this novel. By analyzing issues of alienation, disconnection, feminism, and ecological awareness, the paper shows how Atwood represents nature as a healing and renewing power. The protagonist’s flight to the wild not only offers her an occasion to confront a buried trauma and rediscover her lost self but also helps fashion an ecofeminist consciousness that refuses dominant patriarchy, territorial violence, and cultural alienation. Through thematic and interpretative reading, this paper contends that Surfacing prepares a return to nature, not as an evasion of reality but as a solution for mental health, moral acceptance and self-replenishment.
Keywords
Ecofeminism, self-reclamation, alienation, patriarchy, nature, ecological consciousness
How to Cite
Dr. Lubna Tabassum. “Reclaiming Self through Nature: Ecofeminist Consciousness in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 964-973. ISSN: 0976-8165.
