Challenging the Operations of Power in the Pandemic Plot: A Hydrofeminist Reading of Water in Sarah Hall’s Burntcoat

This paper explores the motif of water in Sarah Hall’s novel Burntcoat (2021), written during the COVID-19 pandemic, as a symbol of interconnectedness and transformation. It examines how water challenges conventional boundaries between identity, the body, and the environment. Drawing on Astrida Neimanis’ concept of hydrofeminism, the analysis investigates how Hall employs watery imagery to address themes of corporeality and the dynamic interplay between humanity and nature in the context of a global pandemic. Through a hydrofeminist lens, this study highlights how Burntcoat engages with the pandemic’s realities, encouraging readers to reimagine their relationship with the natural world. By positioning Burntcoat within hydrofeminist discourse, the paper underscores water as a metaphor for dissolving rigid boundaries and fostering a holistic understanding of existence, thereby contributing to the literary analysis of watery imagery in “corona literature.”