Mother / Nature: Popular Culture and Environmental Ethics

by Catherine M. Roach

This brief but ambitious book explores our relationship with nature through the imagery we use when we talk about Mother Nature. Employing the critical tools of religious studies, psychology, and gender studies, Catherine M. Roach examines the various manifestations of nature as "mother" and what that idea implies for the way we approach the natural world. Part One, "Nature as Good Mother," discusses the notion that nature is, or is like, a beneficent and nurturing mother who provides and maintains life. In studying the "green" slogan "Love Your Mother," Roach questions the effects―for women and for the environment―of imputing female gender to nature. She asks us to look at the associations that "motherhood" and "mothering" carry within a culture still shaped by patriarchy. She notes the danger of such an apparently pro-environmental slogan if "mother" evokes the bountiful, self-sacrificing provider who herself requires no care.

Part Two, "Nature as Bad Mother," looks at the contrary notion of nature as a violent, threatening, and wrathful mother. This image arises most often when humans and technology are depicted as masters of unruly nature. Here Roach draws on theological reflection to analyze this ambivalence toward nature manifested in a fantasy that casts humans as gods. She explores the contributions of eco-theology and eco-psychology to a "heart of darkness" perspective. Finally, Part Three, "Nature as Hurt Mother," looks at possibilities and pitfalls of environmental healing inherent in the image of nature as a mother we have wounded and now seek to heal.

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Catherine M. Roach has 25 years of grant-funded research experience on gender, sexuality, and American popular culture. A two-time Fulbright awardee with a PhD from Harvard and publications in both fiction and non-fiction, she's been an invited visiting professor in Canada, Australia, and Europe. She is Professor of New College, an innovative liberal arts program at The University of Alabama, where she's won the school's top research and teaching awards and where she offers a popular cross-university course titled "Sexuality and Society." She is based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the use of the term “Mother Nature” and how nature is presented in various contexts as a mother figure. Roach claims this gendering of nature is highly connected to how patriarchal society in the Western world views both women and nature, which is primarily as fertile beings which occupy child-rearing roles within society. She analyzes the topic using examples from popular culture and an interdisciplinary theoretical framework utilizing religious studies, psychology, and gender studies.