The Rusted Heart: An Ecopsychological Perspective on the Double Alienation of Environment and Mind in "A Life in the Iron Mills"

Abstract

Rebecca Harding Davis is known for her direct depiction of the dramatically changing realities of industrialised American society, particularly in Life in the Iron Mills. This work was written in the first half of the 19th century at the height of the wave of immigration, urbanisation and industrialisation in America. The changes Wheeling experienced in a short period of time directly altered the lives of the people at the bottom of the social ladder during that era, causing dramatic upheaval in the social hierarchy and bringing about corresponding changes in the environment. From an ecopsychological perspective, the interaction between the environment and humans is a complex and dynamic process that reveals the inextricable link between human behaviour and the external world. Changes in the environment trigger a series of chain reactions at the social and individual levels. The purpose of this paper is to analyse from an ecopsychological point of view the environmental pollution, the difficult situation of the workers at the bottom brought about by social division, and the physical and mental alienation of the workers under this series of drastic changes, all of which indicate the negative impacts of the wave of industrialisation in the United States brought about by the people at the bottom. Thus, it reveals the physical and mental oppression of a natural person who is swept away by the wave of society and is unable to control himself, and explains its corresponding practical significance.