Abstract
ABSTRACT This article examines Paul Harding’s representation of natural agency in Tinkers as a response to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendentalist perspective on nature, as articulated in his landmark essay “Nature.” It argues that Harding reimagines this essay from both human and natural perspectives to convey the theme of community. Harding presents Emersonian subjective experiences with nature from a nonhuman perspective, envisioning nature’s communication with humans in a natural language comprehensible to humans, and illustrating human-nature interconnectedness as part of a universal connection among all natural entities. Additionally, Harding describes the characters’ active pursuit of understanding natural mysteries and experiencing its beauty through their senses to form a bond with nature. This description illustrates human interconnectedness through a shared identity with nature, which is fostered in humanity’s collective relationship with the natural world, and in Emersonian practice of solitary communion with it. Natural agency is highlighted in the community-building amidst human-nature interactions as portrayed in the protagonists’ narrative, and through a nature narrative depicting a collective of both the human and the nonhuman. Through these narratives, Harding’s work challenges anthropocentric notions of collectivity, demonstrating fiction’s potential to engage with the nonhuman in the context of growing ecological crises.
Published Version
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