Rethinking ‘Motherhood’ in the Anthropocene: An Ecofeminist Reading of The New Wilderness by Diane Cook

Abstract

A large number of recent climate fiction written by and about women deal with the challenges and anxieties of mothering in environmentally dystopian times. Analysing these narratives is crucial as they provide an opportunity to explore the connection between environment, gender, reproduction and the Anthropocene. This paper analyses The New Wilderness (2020) by Diane Cook, an exemplar of climate fiction, from an ecofeminist perspective. The paper will look specifically at how the novel presents motherhood in an eco-dystopia and how this representation speaks to the recent ecofeminist conceptualisation of motherhood informed by the concepts of postmaternalism and embodied ethics of care.