‘The Road Never Ends’: Ecofeminism and Magical Realism in Rachel Zadok’s <i>Sister-Sister</i>

Abstract

Ecofeminism is an interdisciplinary movement that analyses power imbalances and examines the intersectional impacts neoliberalism has on humanity and the planet. Cultural artefacts (literature, films, artworks, etcetera) play an important role in raising awareness of ecofeminist concerns. Evaluating Rachel Zadok’s magical realist novel Sister-Sister (2013) through an ecofeminist lens exposes how the social and ecological ills of the Anthropocene are a result of a systemic neoliberal marginalisation of the planet and the poor. The novel depicts the trauma inflicted on those living in poverty, revealing how poverty spreads its tentacles through the lives of those it affects. Set in an alternative South Africa where drought has blighted rural villages, Sister-Sister demonstrates how environmental degradation has a disproportionately negative impact on the poorest in society. The novel addresses sexual violence and rape, raising the urgent matter of how society fails girls; girls growing up in economically deprived environments tend to be especially vulnerable to sexual predation. The paper finds resonances between magical realism and ecofeminism. As both are processes of resistance – ecofeminism resists oppressive toxic power and magical realism contests reality – the analysis highlights how magical realist devices are an effective means of communicating crucial ecofeminist concerns.