Female Empathy Towards Nature: An Ecofeminist Study of Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide

Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide is a testimony of women’s deep connection with and empathetic attitude towards nature. The novel demonstrates the multifarious relationship between Man and Nature, and therefore, it is critically analysed from an Eco-critical perspective. In this research paper, I would like to adopt a new approach to interpret the novel from a fresher perspective to unravel a woman’s empathetic attitude and invisible but unbreakable bond with mother nature celebrated throughout the ages in the local folktales of deities like Bon Bibi. The novel will be further critically analysed using the concepts of Gaia hypothesis and Eco grief, transformative and Ecofeminism to detangle the knots of the intricate relationship. This paper is an attempt to investigate and establish a link between the ecological and environmental forces and women through a detailed analysis of the legend of the female deity Bon Bibi, who has been depicted as the preserver and protector of the forest and the journey of Piyali Roy, the central character Amitav Ghosh’s novel, The Hungry Tide. An analytical approach will be adapted to assess the importance and value of female empathy towards nature.