Powieść ekologiczna jako gatunek krytyczny

Abstract

The Article is Dedicated to Present an Environmentalist (Environmental, Ecological) Novel as a 'Critical Genre'. I show its attributes in contrast with a nature novel which in turn I define as a thematic novel form being mainly educational and set in nature. Ecological novel on the other hand is an ideological variety of a novel related to social ecological movements arising after the fifties. Its plot need not take place in natural environment and the ecological value may be emphasized merely in the discursive layer. While the nature novel is dominated by an anthropocentric viewpoint the ecological novel is strictly oriented towards ecocentricism' and utilizing accomplishments of feminist and postcolonial literature. The true commitment of this genre is quite distinctive. I demonstrate it exemplifying three characteristic types of ecological novel: the philosophical treaty (Elizabeth Costello, J.M. Coetzee), the futurological ecological dystopia (Possibility of an Island, M. Houellebecq) and the ecological novel (“powieść środowiskowa") about ecologists (Low−tech, M. Olszewski), simultaneously highlighting its close connections with feminism (Prowadź swój pług przez kości umarłych, O. Tokarczuk) as well as criticism of capitalism.