The place of theory in the criticism of dramatic literature: Ayakoroma’s dance on his grave

Abstract

The environment and injustice are part of the concerns that are located within the fields of Eco-feminism and Eco-criticism. These concerns are universal.  Sarah Ray Jaquette, a professor at the University of Oregon, USA, came up with the concept of the Ecological Other", by which she sought to highlight  issues of social injustice 'embedded' in U.S. environmental policy and practice against the ecological others whom she identified as, Native Indians,  People with Disabilities and Migrants. This paper examines the works of two Nigerian female writers, both of them reputable and versatile as feminists  who are also environmentally conscious and concerned about issues of injustice against women in our societies. In other words, they are Eco-feminists.  Eco-feminism describes a feminist approach to understanding ecology. Eco-feminists usually draw on the concept of gender to theorise on the  relationship between humans and the natural environment. This paper attempts to reflect both the natural environments and the psychological domains  under which injustice is meted out towards women and how these women respond to these situations in their lives. The women as represented through  the chosen texts are thus considered the environmental/psychological others whose bodies have become the objects of social injustice in our own social  domains of Nigeria. However, some of these women have been shown to have overcome victim-hood to become agents of positive change; negotiating  and promoting social justice.