Résumé:
In the context of escalated environmental crises, literature provides a nuanced lens to
explore how marginalized communities respond to ecological devastation and its psychological
aftermath. This study investigates how Jesmyn Ward‘s Salvage the Bones and Sherri L. Smith‘s
Orleans portray motherhood as a form of Ecofeminist resilience in settings of profound
environmental and social collapse. Through an Ecofeminist lens, the study examines the
intersection between women, nature, and patriarchy while incorporating Patricia Hill Collin‘s
Black feminist framework to center black women‘s experiences. It also employs Glenn
Albrecht‘s concept of solastalgia to analyze the emotional turmoil of the protagonists. Moreover,
it provides an in-depth comparative method grounded in close reading and thematic analysis of
motherhood and resilience. The research critiques the role of ecological and social degradation in
creating struggle-filled environments for marginalized communities. It also sheds light on the
different survival mechanisms black women employ to navigate these fraught environments.
Ultimately, the study contributes to Ecofeminist literary criticism as well as ecological discourse,
offering relevant insights into the complex interplay of gender, race, and environmental trauma
in contemporary African American literature.
