Androcentrism vs. Gynocentrism: An Ecocritical Study of Anuradha Roy’s The Folded Earth

Ecocriticism, a literary counterpart to the environmental movement that emerged in the late twentieth century, provides a disciplinary lens for interrogating the representations of nature in cultural texts and the ideological frameworks that underpin human-environment relations. Within this framework, ecofeminism has crystallised as a significant sub-strand, foregrounding the gendered dimensions of ecological crisis and contending that valorised patriarchal domination, hierarchy, and dualistic logics pave the way for the suppression of women and depletion of the natural world. The research paper utilises a close reading approach to explain Anuradha Roy’s depiction of the intricate relationship between humanity and nature in the novel The Folded Earth, set against the backdrop of the Himalayan foothills. It investigates how the novel reveals the extension of partriarchal dominance over both women and the natural world through the eco-critical concepts such as of anthropocentrism and androcentrism. The findings emphasise the novel’s contribution to contemporary discourses on ecological conservation and gender justice, highlighting the role of literature in addressing the interconnected social and environmental issues.