Nature, Gender, And Dust: An Ecocritical Reading Of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy

Abstract

The primary goal of this dissertation is to study the relationship between humans and the natural environment as perceived in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy by analyzing the prominent settings, characters, symbols, and themes from an ecocritical perspective. The secondary goal is to apply a Native American philosophical perspective--using primarily Roy Dudgeon's concept of the "inclusive circle," Hyemeyohsts Storm's concept of the Medicine Wheel, and Black Elk's unifying vision--to this analysis in order to enhance the ecocritical understanding of the trilogy. The application of the theories of identity development, ecocriticism, ecofeminism, nondualism, and Native American philosophy serve as methodology for this study. The main contribution of this study is to emphasize the usefulness of an ecocritical analysis when applied to young adult fantasy.