an ecofeminist reading of anton chekhov's gooseberries

Anton chekhov is a prominent russian writer whose plays and short stories have attracted many readers from around the world. gooseberries (1898) is a short story in which ivan, an old vet, depicts his younger brother's life and his attempt to fulfill his lifelong desires. this story has received critical attentions since its publication. even though this work has been studied from different perspectives such as biographical analysis, the analysis of the representation of nature and women have been overlooked. ecofeminism is a new branch in feminist studies that focuses on the degradation of women along with nature through history. therefore, by deploying val plumwood's ecofeminist concepts such as 'dualism' and 'instrumentalism', this work explores the status of women and nature throughout the work. the article argues that the characters' acts and thoughts are shaped by the dualisms. the forms of oppression have left traces in western culture and thus they bring about the oppression of women and nature through man/woman and man/nature dualisms. it also fleshes out the way women and nature have been treated as instruments for male-driven purposes. instrumentalism is one of the features of a dualistic structure in which the upper side considers the lower side as mere end to his goal. the findings of this study suggest that nature is instrumentalized along with female characters in the story.