ECOFEMINIST PERSPECTIVES AND TRAUMA IN ARUNDHATI ROY’S THE GOD of SMALL THINGS

Abstract

This paper explores the ecofeminist dimensions and trauma narratives in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997). The novel, set in Kerala, interweaves ecological degradation with patriarchal oppression, highlighting how both women and nature are marginalized by socio-political and cultural structures. Through an ecofeminist lens, the paper examines how Roy portrays the interconnectedness of ecological and feminine suffering, while also analyzing the traumatic consequences of caste, gender, and colonial hierarchies. Drawing upon theorists such as Vandana Shiva, Val Plumwood, and Chandra Talpade Mohanty, this study situates Roy’s narrative within the global discourse of ecofeminism and postcolonial trauma. It argues that The God of Small Things offers a complex critique of domination and displacement, where nature, woman, and the subaltern share intertwined fates of exploitation and silencing.