DOI: 10.31703/glr.2021(VI-I).27 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.31703/glr.2021(VI-I).27 p-ISSN: 2663-3299 e-ISSN: 2663-3841 L-ISSN: 2663-3299 Vol. VI, No. I (Winter 2021) Pages: 248-253 Citation: Nawaz, A., Iftikhar, N., & Maqbool, R. (2021). Woman-Nature affinity in Desai’s Where Shall We Go This Summer: An Ecofeminist Analysis. Global Language Review, VI(I), 248-253. https://doi.org/10.31703/glr.2021(VI-I).27 Woman-Nature affinity in Desai’s Where Shall We Go This Summer: An Ecofeminist Analysis Arshad Nawaz * Nimra Iftikhar † Ruqayya Maqbool ‡ Abstract This research paper focuses on the images extracted from natural phenomena in Anita Desai's Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1982), to illustrate the pros and cons of patriarchal society's marginalization and alienation of women in today's world. The article exposes the deep hidden meanings of natural imagery through a feministic sensibility. Desai uses natural and animal elements to create a metaphoric picture of an archetypal feminine figure that works on two levels at the same time. At a primary level, this technique of inserting natural images at various points throughout the novel aims to heighten the magnitude and intensity of the mental and spiritual agony of a victimized woman who faces domestic violence, male oppression, and female suppression while on a secondary level, the role of these images helps the women in the catharsis of that pain, distress, and anguish which is the result of the rejection of her husband and society as a whole. Karen Warren’s theory of Ecofeminism which regards both women and nature as oppressed objects, is applied for the purpose of research methodology. This research aims to overturn oppressive patriarchal practices by bringing women and ecology from the margins to the forefront. Key Words: Woman, Nature, Feminism, Ecology, Ecofeminism Introduction Anita Desai is an Indian novelist whose novels are based upon women’s freedom. She vividly constructs the woman relation with nature and asserts that it is nature that helps women in emancipation. She through various female characters of her different novels like Cry, the Peacock (2006), Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1982), and Fire on the Mountain (1976) depicts the oppression of women by the male patriarchal society. Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1982) by Anita Desai is a novel about a middle-class woman's concerns, which deals with the same subject of man's dominance over woman, marginalization, alienation, and enslavement of a woman who remains in quest of her inner self and * Lecturer, Department of English, Government College University Faisalabad, Sub-Campus Hafizabad, Punjab, Pakistan. † M.Phil in English, Minhaj University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. ‡ M.Phil in English, Minhaj University Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Email: ruqayyamaqbool@gmail.com finally gets affinity of the nature for her survival. Desai employs a variety of hues, natural imagery, and metaphors to emphasize the marginalization and alienation of women living on the margins. She also depicts the patriarchal society's mistreatment of them, mistreatment impact on women's psychology and mental health, and their escape or comfort through natural objects and pictures. It is her fourth novel, which portrays the internal and external weakness of a woman who is fed up with her daily routine and tries to get her existence by visiting Tanori Island, which has been her dreamland during her childhood. She, throughout the novel, asks for escapism from the city life and tries to get back the