An Ecofeminist Interpretation of J.G. Ballard’s The Drowned World

Abstract

J.G. Ballard is one of the most influential British authors of the 20th century. Renowned for his surrealist works of fiction, Ballard delivered the primary examples of climate fiction. The Drowned World is J.G. Ballard’s second novel of a post-apocalyptic quadrilogy. The novel tells the story of a scientist’s quest for survival amidst a global flood. Moreover, Beatrice Dahl happens to be the only woman left alive in London and the sole woman character of the novel itself. To that end, ecofeminism is a comprehensive theory which combines feminist thought with the school of ecocriticism. The Drowned World is a novel that incorporates notions of social ecofeminism through the character of Beatrice. This article aims to provide a social ecofeminist analysis of Ballard’s The Drowned World by focusing on the character of Beatrice Dahl. All in all, the relationship between patriarchal capitalism and the oppression of women and nature is exposed in the article with specific references to the novel.