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“Rapes of Earth and Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck, Ecofeminism and the Metaphor of
Rape” by Sigridur Gudmarsdottir and “The Philosophy of Ecology in John Steinbeck’s
The Grapes of Wrath” by Stephanie A. Steinbrecher

Reviewed by
Sobia Sikander

“Grapes of Wrath” is an account of the human nature and human relationships within the
materialistic social world. Human behaviors towards nature reveal the true side of the human
beings and their struggle to survival. Steinbrecher‘s concern in the study “The philosophy of
Ecology” is about the multiple literary approaches related to the study of environment and
particularly the analysis of eco critical discourse. The analysis of the characters engage with the
environment and the study of natural environment itself is the main point of discussion in the
novel “Grapes of Wrath”. Moreover it also deals with the thought process related to narratives
that are linked with the environment and nature, and thus are pertinent to the eco- critical
concerns in the society.

The article “Rapes of Earth and Grapes of Wrath” has eco-feminist approach as suggested by the
abstract. It encompasses the aspects of women oppression and their spiritual connection to the
natural land. The article examines the three aspects of the metaphor of rape in the book. At first
point it argues the presence of green apocalypse in the novel. The second point is about the
identification of women subjugation in the book and third is about the representation of women
as earth mothers. The thesis “philosophy of Ecology “focuses on the human concept of
anthropocentricism and the eco-critical aspect in the novel. The narrative style of the novel has
added up in the theme of environmental injustice, to represent the spiritual relationship of human
beings to the environment.

Women studies have always been very important in every field of discussion. Women have been
the focus of study in all the literary disciplines. In this regard the movement of feminism is also
important. Feminists focus on the rights of women in the male dominated world. Feminism has
altered the viewpoints in different socio-economic aspects. Feminists and scholars have divided
the history of feminism into three different waves. According to feminists, the first wave dealt
with the suffrage of women, the second wave focused on women’s liberation and third wave
dealt with in a larger context of feminist approach. Post-colonial feminism is pertinent to discuss
the under discussion article by “Sigridur Gudmarsdottir”. The plight of the third world women in
the colonial and patriarchal society is worse than any other women in the society. They have to
suffer “double colonization” in the society.

Moreover, post-colonial feminist believe that western society has portrayed native women as
passive and voiceless victims like not more than mere objects rather than as human beings. The
portrayal of western women is powerful and independent and educated. Third world feminism is
based on the theories of women who took part in the socio-political movements in the third
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world countries. Moreover, feminist argue that the Western concept about women is also an
example of biased colonial attitude. Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Sarojini Sahoo also criticize
the western feminism theorists on the basis that it does not take into account the real experiences
of the third world women. In addition to this, post-colonial feminist argues that the western
concept of female subjugation and oppression is given to the native males in the third world
patriarchal societies. The authors of the third world feminist theories believe that the West has
shaped the gender ideology in a way that it asserts the superiority of men over women. The
under discussion article is about the theory of feminism in the eco critical perspective. In this
regard the Western concept of womanhood associated with land is also very important. The
masculine vision about the women in the oppressive societies is totally based on their association
with the land. The concept of British women is as they have spent trivial lives and they had no
idea about politics and serious concerns of empire. He also argued that the other notion about
Europeans women is that the fear of sexually assaulted by the native men. As womanhood has
always been associated with the sacredness of land in the Colonial perspectives, the patriarchal
societies associated this concept with the oppression of women (Tyagi).

Eco feminism is a branch in the study of relationship between nature and human beings. It
suggests that as nature is exploited by the hands of human beings as women have been exploited
by the males in the society. Ecofeminism is a term which is invented by Francois d’ Eaubonne in
1974. It is a philosophy that is based on the collaborative ideas of post-colonial feminism and
eco criticism. Dr Vandana Shiva has associated the ideas of interconnectedness between women
and nature. There are different types of eco feminism that deal with the immigration, economics,
spirituality, class struggle and racial discrimination. The article under review is the example of
eco-feminist view regarding economic and immigration perspectives. In the article the metaphor
“Grapes of Wrath” is used as the rape of the earth. Eco-feminists believe that the similarities in
the oppression of earth and women are both regarded as rape. Industrialization and the excessive
use of machines have brought the exploitation of natural resources in the city of Okhlama. The
article compares the ways in which women in the patriarchal society suffer and particularly the
earth is mistreated by the rich arrogant land owners. The focus of the under review article is
mainly in three directions. In the first point it discusses the green apocalypse in the context of
industrialization. The important aspect of the novel “Grapes of Wrath” is Eco-Marxism as well
that is interlinked with the concepts of eco-feminism. The second aspect of the article is to
understand the concepts of eco-feminism in the present situation of America. In the second
aspect it deals with the roles of women and their struggle in the modern materialistic societies.
The third aspect of the article deals with the ways in which women are presented as earth
mothers. The focus of the article here is on the words and images used for dual purposes to
depict the nature and plight of women in the materialistic world.

The post-colonial view of connectedness of women with the lands and its sacredness in the eco-
critical aspects is very important. According to Bohemer, the native women were doubly and
triply marginalized in the names of caste, creed and gender oppression. The fundamental reason
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behind the ideology of women interconnectedness is with the British idea of conceiving
unexplored places as virgin lands. The idea of virgin land means the empty land without the
racial and gender discrimination and male possession. It presents women as lands to be
discovered, entered, named, exploited and owned. The ideas of gender discrimination according
to those men have to work outside and women work in domestic situations, evolves in the
slavery. The article perceives the land as the body of women in the novel Grapes of Wrath. The
land is described as the female body so in result the ongoing materialistic practices over the land
symbolically presented as the violence against t the sacredness of female body. The article‘s
objective is to look into the metaphors used for the females and the land.

The under review article gives a religious Christian belief about the objectification of women as
having animalistic values and desires. The rigorous Christian beliefs hold women responsible for
the original sin and consider that they were created inferior to men. However Christian eco
feminism argues that all the creation and bodies are the representatives of God’s sacredness and
provenance. Thus all human beings are equal and women bodies have the same sanctity of God’s
will. The concept of Eco feminism to symbolize the misuse of natural lands as the exploitation of
female bodies is very pertinent to the whole philosophy of Eco feminism. However, women
associates themselves with nature on the basis of the concepts given by patriarchal society, they
allow themselves to be subjugated under the inferior-superior binary opposition. Mostly
feminists see the connection of women with nature as the reason for their oppression in the male
dominant society. However some other feminists believe that the transcendence with nature is
equally for both men and women in the society. Berman argues to use new metaphors instead of
“rape” in the text that more explicitly describe the atrocities and violence against the women in
the patriarchal societies.

The novel “Grapes of Wrath” the metaphor of “rape” and “grapes” have been used in a dramatic
way to exhibit the graphic details of the wrath and anger of the migrant families. According to
Steinbeck the book portrays the devastation of natural resources predicts the danger of great
green apocalypse. Throughout the use of machines and the capitalistic exploitative ways the
mother earth has been devastated and turned into dust. The title in the book “Grapes of Wrath”
has biblical allusion to the verse 14:19-20 where an angel is trying to convert the grapes into the
wrath of God. The metaphor wrath is God’s anger over the evil practices in the world. The
metaphor of grapes turns into wine symbolizes the blood that comes as a result of the God’s
anger and wrath on the evils in the world .God’s anger comes as a punishment and justice for
those who practice evil in the world. The natural disasters like rain, dust storms and flood are the
wrath of God coming to earth as the result of all the ill practices of the rich capitalists in the
society. Judo-Christian believes provide a thematic foundation in the thesis “The philosophy of
Ecology” as it represents the concept of mother earth in the article “Rape of the Earth and Grapes
of Wrath”.

Human relation with the environment and nature is interdependent. The theorists of deep ecology
believe that human beings have a relation with nature that not only have impact on environment
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but shapes their lives too. Similarly, human activities to exploit natural resources result in the
destruction of human beings as well. The under review article “The philosophy of Ecology”
argues about the American literature that is full with the examples of human relationship with the
nature. Human beings take an escape into the lap of nature. All the famous writers in America
like Mark Twain and Whitman focus on the man’s individual encounter with the nature. They
argue the philosophy nature by rejecting the material world and societies. Environmental
philosophy argues that many cultural and political readings of the nature give an economic
perspective as well. Human relation with the nature and environment is dependent on its
economic side as well. In different economic pursuits man forgets the environmental ethics and
destroys the natural land. Deep ecologists believe on the eco centric philosophy. The notion of
anthropocentricism is against the environment ethics of the deep ecology.

“Grapes of Wrath” takes place in the 1930’s America in the time of great depression as the
major part of the country was facing the catastrophe of Dust Bowl and it led to the huge
migration of farmers to the city of California. The book reveals the journey of Joad family and
their strong resilience to the hardships they faced while moving to the green place of California.
The beginning chapters in the novel revels the eco- critical concerns of Steinbeck. His metaphors
in the language of the novel are related to the nature. The representation of the dying crops, dust
and all the living and non -living natural objects, is strongly interlinked with the human behavior
towards nature. In the society full of materialistic concerns, the Joad family has only relief in the
form of mutual care and compassion among the migrants. The Joad family represents the
philosophy of unity against the atrocities of rich capitalists and also against the natural calamities
and disasters. In the whole book Steinbeck focuses on the importance of community compassion
in the survival of human beings .This is also the important feature of eco-critical philosophy.

Spiritual ecology is the important theme in the “Grapes of Wrath “. Steinbeck has illustrated the
theme of eco-spirituality in the book by presenting the struggle of Joad family in the time of
great depression. Human relationships and human nature is evident in the book by the way the
characters have treated the environment. The moral focus of the novel is the reconciliation of the
individual to the community. Steinbeck has discussed the spiritual relationship between human
beings and nature in two different ways. On the one side the book depicted the ways in which
human beings have treated the nature and the environment and the other is the creation of a
moral universe that provide guidance to all human beings towards the other natural world. The
textual structure of the story itself reveals the spiritual bond between human beings and the
natural world in the play. Peter Valenti argues that the structure of the play contains the
documentary chapters along with the Joad family focused chapters. These documentary chapters
in the book establish a link between the nature and human beings. The structure of the novel
enables Steinbeck to present the ecological unity by emphasizing on the struggle of Joad family
and through depiction of different scenes in the commentary sections. The study titled as
“Philosophy of Ecology “has dealt with the theme of deep ecology in with the focus on the Joad
family‘s struggle to survival.
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The article “Rapes of the Earth and Grapes of Wrath” argues the spiritual connectivity between
the representation of women and the environment. The metaphor of rape has the significance in
the way that the association between female body and the natural land is made. The article by
Sigridur Gudmarsdottir is an effective study of the concepts of eco -feminist theory. He argues
about the usefulness of the metaphor of rape in the use of eco feminist studies. He also questions
the relevancy of the concept of female body associated with the land. The coherent argument
supported the belief that beyond the dominance of patriarchal society‘s association of women as
victimized and oppressed creatures, also questions the use of metaphors in language. The article
very aptly highlights the gaps and bridges itself in the theory of eco feminism that associates the
women with concept of maternal images of nature (Gudmarsdottir).

The under review thesis argues the aspects of deep ecology with the focus on the Judo-Christian
aspects of spirituality. As mentioned in the abstract the three aspects of the investigation in the
study of “philosophy of ecology” in the light of the novel “Grapes of wrath”. In my view point
the under discussion thesis presents all aspects of deep ecology and spirituality in relation to the
concept of environmental justice but has overlooked the fundamental aspect of
anthropocentricism in the discussion. As mentioned in the abstract but there is no detail reference
of discussion to the dominance of human beings in relation to the environment. The concept of
anthropocentrism is fundamental root cause of the disturbing relationship of human beings with
the environment that leads to the human alienation to the land itself (Steinbrecher).

Works Cited

Gudmarsdottir, Sigridur. "Rapes of Earth and Grapes of Wrath: Steinbeck, Ecofeminism and
Metaphor of Rape." Feminist Theology (2010): 206-222.

Steinbrecher, Stephanie A. "The Philosophy of Ecology in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of

Wrath." Becholars of arts Dissertation. 2016.

Tyagi, Dr. Ritu. "Understanding Postcolonial Feminism in relation with Postcolonial and
Feminist Theories." International Journal of Language and Linguistics (2014): 49-50.