Voices of the Nonhuman: Posthuman Ecologies in Atwood’s Surfacing

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Author: Surabhi Chandan

Keywords: Margaret Atwood, Posthumanism, Ecofeminism, Nonhuman Agency, Environmental Literature, Surfacing

Abstract: This paper explores the posthuman and ecofeminist dimensions of Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing, with a focus on how nonhuman elements—specifically the landscape, animals, and water—emerge as active agents rather than passive backdrops. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from ecofeminism and posthumanism, including the works of Rosi Braidotti, Jane Bennett, and Donna Haraway, the analysis demonstrates how Atwood reconfigures human subjectivity by centering relationality, interdependence, and nonhuman agency. Through the protagonist’s psychological and physical immersion in the Canadian wilderness, Surfacing interrogates Cartesian dualisms such as human/nature, male/female, and reason/emotion. The forest becomes a sentient witness; the lake, a womb-like site of memory and truth; and animals, mirrors of human violence and empathy. As the protagonist sheds the layers of her culturally imposed identity, she enters into a liminal space where boundaries between species and selves collapse, enabling a posthuman reawakening grounded in ecological consciousness. The novel critiques patriarchal, capitalist systems that commodify both women and nature, while offering a vision of subjectivity rooted in reciprocity, embodiment, and non-dominance. This reading positions Surfacing not only as a feminist and environmental narrative but as a prescient text that anticipates contemporary discourses on multispecies ethics and the Anthropocene. Ultimately, Atwood invites us to listen to the voices of the nonhuman world—and in doing so, reimagine what it means to live ethically and sustainably within a shared planetary ecology.

Article Info: Received on: 19 Feb 2025 Revised on:18 Mar 2025 Accepted on: 22 Mar 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijeel.4.2.7

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Page No: 42-47