دانشگاه شهید بهشتی نقد زبان و ادبیات خارجی 20087330 23 36 2026 03 21 The Dualistic Dynamics of Plumwoodian Philosophy in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things The Dualistic Dynamics of Plumwoodian Philosophy in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things 89 98 106910 10.48308/clls.2026.243722.1432 FA ستوده میجانی M.A. in English Literature, English Department, School of Literature and Humanities, Urmia University 0009-0002-3932-8081 هاله زرگرزاده استادیار، دانشکده ادبیات دانشگاه ارومیه Journal Article 2026 02 24 This article examines Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) through the lens of Val Plumwood’s ecofeminism. In her novel, Roy illustrates how Ammu, the focal character of this research, suffers from cultural, ideological, social, and economic exploitation and subjugation. Nature is likewise irresponsibly degraded and deteriorated by humans in the novel. While scholars have analyzed this novel from diverse ecocritical, feminist, ecofeminist, and postcolonial ecofeminist perspectives, it has not been examined through Plumwood’s theoretical framework. This study presents an ecofeminist reading of the novel, employing Plumwood’s concept of “dualism” and its three key features, namely, “backgrounding (denial),” “radical exclusion (hyperseparation),” as well as “instrumentalism (objectification).” We argue that the dualistic structures associated with gender, caste, and social class are dismantled by Ammu, even though she is subjected to backgrounding, radical exclusion, and instrumentalism by both her family and society. Furthermore, nature, which is also vulnerable to exploitation, challenges humanity’s anthropocentric dominance. The findings indicate that, despite the oppressive cultural, social, and ideological forces within Indian society, both Ammu and nature display resilience and agency. Although Ammu meets a tragic end, she heroically dies as an active resister of man-made laws rather than as a passive conformist. This article examines Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) through the lens of Val Plumwood’s ecofeminism. In her novel, Roy illustrates how Ammu, the focal character of this research, suffers from cultural, ideological, social, and economic exploitation and subjugation. Nature is likewise irresponsibly degraded and deteriorated by humans in the novel. While scholars have analyzed this novel from diverse ecocritical, feminist, ecofeminist, and postcolonial ecofeminist perspectives, it has not been examined through Plumwood’s theoretical framework. This study presents an ecofeminist reading of the novel, employing Plumwood’s concept of “dualism” and its three key features, namely, “backgrounding (denial),” “radical exclusion (hyperseparation),” as well as “instrumentalism (objectification).” We argue that the dualistic structures associated with gender, caste, and social class are dismantled by Ammu, even though she is subjected to backgrounding, radical exclusion, and instrumentalism by both her family and society. Furthermore, nature, which is also vulnerable to exploitation, challenges humanity’s anthropocentric dominance. The findings indicate that, despite the oppressive cultural, social, and ideological forces within Indian society, both Ammu and nature display resilience and agency. Although Ammu meets a tragic end, she heroically dies as an active resister of man-made laws rather than as a passive conformist. https://clls.sbu.ac.ir/article_106910_91a6fa8791f364bf08a1b495d8f266ec.pdf