Le jeu de la parodie dans Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her de Susan Griffin

Abstract

In this paper, I will study an excerpt from Woman and Nature (1978) by Susan Griffin reprinted in the 2016 collection Reclaim to show how the author condemns patriarchal and ecocidal discourse while implementing an ecofeminist practice of language. The parodic rewriting of some philosophers, scientists and men of Church enables Susan Griffin to highlight the arbitrariness of the claims of the joint superiority of man over woman and over nature, of spirit over matter, and of reason over imagination. On the other hand, the use of parody, as a poetic practice of language that foregrounds its metaphorical and pictorial dimensions, allows Susan Griffin to show, through her rewritings of patriarchal speech, an ecofeminist practice of language, which celebrates the powers of poetry and its ability to convey political discourse. Finally, I will show that parody allows Susan Griffin to write in a polysemic and polyphonic language, capable both of showing the arbitrariness of the association of women and nature and of using this association for the purposes of empowerment.

Keywords

• playful writing
• parody
• polyphony
• reversal of stigma
• witch
• ecofeminism