| Résumé: |
This thesis aims to discuss the presence of the queer in two speculative fictions that thematise ecological devastation: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and Dawn by Octavia Butler. Both novels choose to depict female protagonists and queer characters in a context with the imperative to reproduce. As the queer is purportedly disregarded in discussions on the future for being non-reproductive, this work therefore seeks to analyse the causes and implications of this exclusion. The thesis grounds itself in a queer ecological framework that allows to draw parallels between the treatment of nature and the rejection of the queer. Queer ecology revolves around one central paradox: the queer is considered to be unnatural and against nature, yet nature itself is destroyed and uncared for. Why do we then maintain visions of nature and of the "natural" that seek to exclude the queer and what does this entail for our consideration of nature? A literary analysis method combining comparative and close reading is used in this work. Similarities and differences are found between both novels' portrayal of the queer and of themes such as ecology, imprisonment, sexuality, the erotic, patriarchy and violence. The thesis also draws on theoretical fields such as ecofeminism, queer ecofeminism, intersectionalism, postcolonial studies and race theory. It concludes on the need to reconsider the centrality of reproduction, especially white reproduction, in visions of the future, by highlighting its ties to heterosexist interpretations of nature that show a lack of concern for an ecological and sustainable future. |
Mémoire [760 ko]