Ökofeminismus in Elfriede Jelineks Die Liebhaberinnen und Oh Wildnis, oh Schutz vor ihr

This essay examines Jelinek's early prose texts, Die Liebhaberinnen and Oh Wildnis, oh Schutz vor ihr , which illustrate ecofeminist theses avant la lettre through the depiction of the oppressive connections between nature and women as well as societal issues. The examination refers to two strands of ecofeminism: social ecofeminism, which supports a natural connection between women and nature, and cultural ecofeminism, which critically questions such a connection and is based on social construction. Personified Nature, animals, and women are portrayed as oppressed groups whose status as "the Other" is maintained through male violence and capitalist dominance in these texts. Occasionally, some women and Nature succeed in emancipating themselves, but only by adopting violent or capitalist-patriarchal strategies themselves. Through Jelinek's sharp and revealing language style, the violence and hierarchy embedded in societal structures are exposed, and the idealization of nature is criticized.