Feminist Ecocriticism by Vakoch Douglas A.; Adams Vicky L.; Sullivan Marnie M

Author:Vakoch, Douglas A.; Adams, Vicky L.; Sullivan, Marnie M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Lexington Books
Published: 2012-03-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Shifting Subjects and Marginal Worlds

Marnie M. Sullivan

Revealing the Radical in Rachel Carson’s Three Sea Books

Rachel Carson was a popular author who had been writing for the public for nearly thirty years prior to the publication of Silent Spring in 1962. From the earliest examples of her writing, she urged readers to respect “those with whom we share the world” and recognize both “our interdependence and the value and glory of all life” (Gartner 1983: 117). Carson purposefully wove a web to link “all creatures of the earth into one harmonious and mutually necessary existence,” and this “sense of connectedness” was a guiding principle behind all her work (McCay 1993: 23). With the publication of The Sea Around Us (1951), Carson drew sustained attention from literary critics, scientists, and the reading public. It sold over 200,000 copies in less than a year, remained on the New York Times best-seller list for eighty-six weeks, and was translated into thirty-three languages (Proctor 1995: 48). The popularity of The Sea Around Us led to renewed interest in Carson’s first book, Under the Sea-Wind. A second edition was published in 1952 and it joined The Sea Around Us on the best-seller list.[1] Carson’s third book, The Edge of the Sea (1955), was greeted with similar enthusiasm and appeared on the best-seller list for twenty-three weeks. None of the sea books have ever been out of print. According to Mary McCay (1993: ix), the sea was Carson’s primary focus and finally her greatest symbol. McCay identifies its “creative power and destructive force, its magnitude and infinite variety” that attracted Carson, as it had Melville and Conrad, and like those earlier writers, the “ocean became the medium through which Carson spoke to the world” (1993: ix). Literary critics have effectively situated Carson within Western canons and patriarchal traditions.[2] Feminists and environmentalists have successfully documented the importance of her work. The public has celebrated her achievements with schools, parks, and awards named in her honor. Nevertheless, we have missed significant opportunities to investigate how Carson’s work challenges Western hegemony and have underestimated the radical lessons cloaked in her work. Carson’s three sea books were closest to her heart, best represent a culmination of her life’s work, and most clearly demonstrate the social, political, and ethical implications of her writing.

In the sea books, as in Silent Spring, Carson uses literary devices in order to translate complex scientific and technical information for a large, diverse audience of readers. Unlike Silent Spring, the sea books are not organized as arguments, and are not particularly controversial in content. Instead, these works synthesize findings from the vast reservoir of scientific research conducted from the early twentieth century through World War II, with interrelated piquant narratives based largely on patient, low-impact observation. Carson’s formula yields surprisingly radical results. Indeed, the sea books surpass Silent Spring in their preoccupation with life in the margins, saturation with ambiguity, and the social and political implications associated with these conditions. The title of each book refers to interstitial spaces that predict Carson’s preoccupation with borderlands.

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