A Comparative Ecocritical Reading of Lindsey Collen’s There is a Tide and Ananda Devi’s Soupir

This dissertation looks at the metaphorical liminal qualities of the Mauritian environment through an ecocritical analysis. It proposes a recognition of the relationship between the environment and the narratives of resistance existing in postcolonial island spaces, and therefore, aims to bridge the gap between culture and nature. The first objective of this work is to develop an understanding of the importance of metaphorical constructs in island spaces and how they open up liminal spaces. This objective will be met through an ecological reading of Ananda Devi’s Soupir (2002). The second objective is to use the ecological understanding presented in Soupir to critically engage with the Mauritian environment as it is portrayed in Lindsey Collen’s There is a Tide (1990). Finally, this dissertation aims to problematize the linear ecological and national narrative of Collen’s work, and in doing so, make apparent the complexities of articulating positions on the Mauritian environment