Women, Nature and Resistance in The Everest Hotel and The Hungry Tide

Abstract

The unequal relationship between human society and the natural environment has raised important questions about gender, power, and exploitation. While women continue to face gender-based inequalities in many societies, nature is often treated as a resource for human use. Eco-feminism draws attention to these shared patterns of domination and examines the relationship between women and the natural environment. Allan Sealy’s The Everest Hotel is set in the small town of Drummondganj in the foothills of the Himalayas. The novel presents Ritu as a strong voice for environmental protection. She encourages women to oppose the illegal cutting of trees, reflecting her concern for the protection of the natural environment. Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide also portrays women who struggle against social limitations and seek to establish an identity of their own. Kusum becomes an important figure in this struggle as she challenges social restrictions while living within the difficult relationship between human communities and nature. This paper examines how Ritu and Kusum respond to social subordination and environmental destruction and explores how their struggles create possibilities for resistance and empowerment among women.

Keywords

• Eco-feminism
• resistance
• gender
• displacement
• nature
• environment