City from the Margins: A Reading of Kari

Abstract

The twenty-first century treats the urban transfiguration of spaces as an inevitable end. The conflation of urbanism with refinement and development has blotted out the compromises it makes on environmental care and its adverse effect on the populous. The current study focuses on the repercussions of the materialistic environment of the city on women and nature. This is accomplished by drawing upon the observations of Kari, the queer, introverted eponymous protagonist of Amruta Patil’s graphic narrative. Through Kari’s eyes, the city is seen as a space that is less welcoming to cultural and social outsiders and predominantly inhabited by “post-historic man.” Her position as an outsider in this controlled space of the urban city provides her with a critical lens to observe and recognize the human chauvinism of the Western-oriented sense of development and the egotism of her fellow city dwellers. By taking on the responsibility and committing to the mission of cleansing, Kari exhibits the ethics of care. Kari is a tirade against rapid urbanization and a clarion call for resuscitating the city from its corrupted essence. The paper explores the nuances of urbanness, gendered spaces, and the feminist philosophy of ethics of care. It posits Kari’s ethic of care as a plausible solution to the ecological crisis. The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach, borrowing from urban studies, gender studies, and ecocriticism.