Ecocritical Reading

Selected short stories of Mojca Kumerdej, Ana Marwan and Anja Mugerli

Abstract

An ecocritical reading of fictional texts enables a deeper reflection on literary representations of nature in the context of hierarchy, duality, and the notion of the Other embodied by woman. In the selected literary works, this includes her demythologized role. Drawing on three selected short prose texts, the article examines the ecocritical dimension and proposes possibilities for addressing literature in a literary seminar. The analysis focuses on motifs and themes related to nature in the short stories Pod gladino by Mojca Kumerdej, Jabolkosnedka by Anja Mugerli, and Krota by Ana Marwan. The contribution highlights (lyrical) descriptions of nature and central motifs — such as the tree, air, toad, mosquitoes, birds, water, and the apple — which in all stories transcend mere description and lyricism: for the authors, nature also serves to articulate the inner emotional states of the characters. Disappointment, confinement, and loneliness are feelings they encounter because they fail to fulfil the maternal role expected of them by contemporary society.