TAMING THE UNTAMED: AN ECOFEMINIST ANALYSIS OF WILD ANIMALS’ DOMESTICATION IN TANIA JAMES’ “WHAT TO DO WITH HENRY”

Abstract

The present research seeks to highlight the oppression of women and non-human wild animals in the context of Global South. By using the theory of ecofeminism as a framework, emphasis is placed on the issue of domestication of wild animals and its subsequent consequences upon them. The renowned ecofeminist, Val Plumwood highlights the Western dualistic mode of thinking whereby women of color and non-human animals belong to the same sidelined category. On account of such exploitation, women and animals are pushed to the periphery. Additionally, the study investigates the double marginalization of black women and wild animals. This interconnected oppression of women of color and non-human wild animals is spotlighted in the short fiction titled “What to do with Henry” written by the Indian-American author Tania James (James, 2012, p 4-21) . By drawing upon the notions of ethics of captivity given by Lori Gruen and Stephen R. Ross’s concepts regarding captive animals, the research aims to explore the impacts of domestication upon a wild chimpanzee in the aforementioned short fiction. Domesticating non-human wild animals involves keeping them in captivity with the agenda of subduing their wild instincts. This leads to severe impacts on such animals as they are forced to live under human influence. Simultaneously, these wild animals go through the ordeal of maternal deprivation and change in their bio-behavioral profile which makes them unable to be rehabilitated in the wild. Thus, the current study comprehensively explores the ways that further the exploitation of wild animals on account of their domestication.