JOURNAL ARTICLE

Thoreau, Gender, and the Ecology of Housework.

  • Published In: PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 2025, v. 140, n. 2. P. 203 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: DeWitt, Rachael 3 of 3

Abstract

This study approaches Henry David Thoreau as a model housekeeper whose genderqueer housekeeping generates nonexpansionary modes of relation. I bring together Thoreau's biography, reception history, queer literary history, and ecolinguistics to resituate Walden within, rather than against, the popular discourse of domestic economy. By restoring Thoreau's connections with conventional femininity, one can begin to see how his housekeeping, gardening, and animal husbandry in Walden expand his sense of kinship and give rise to a radically social environmental practice. By playing with the boundary between house and habitat, Thoreau frugally expands his affections and comforts without expanding his ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 2025/03, Vol. 140, Issue 2, p203
  • Document Type:Literary Criticism
  • Subject Area:Environmental Sciences
  • Publication Date:2025
  • ISSN:0030-8129
  • DOI:10.1632/S0030812925000197
  • Accession Number:187675341
  • Copyright Statement:Copyright of PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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