Beyond the Dark, Satanic Mills: An ecocritical reading of 'A Kestrel for a Knave'

DOBSON, Joanna (2018). Beyond the Dark, Satanic Mills: An ecocritical reading of 'A Kestrel for a Knave'. In: CRISTIANO, Silvio, (ed.) Through the Working Class: Ecology and Society Investigated Through the Lens of Labour. Culture del lavoro (8). Venice., Edizioni Da'Foscari, 107-118.

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Abstract

Barry Hines’ 1968 novel A Kestrel for a Knave is justly celebrated for its depiction of work- ing-class life in an English mining village. However, false assumptions about the role of ‘nature’ in the working-class experience have led critics to overlook the significance of the bird at the centre of the novel and the descriptions of the surrounding environment. A reading that foregrounds these aspects offers new insights, revealing a prescient anxiety about the way capitalism weakens relationships between human and nonhuman. The book is shown to be ahead of its time in its understanding that human flourishing depends on meaningful connection with the more-than-human world.

Item Type:	Book Section
Additional Information:	Series ISSN - 2610-9379
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-296-3
Page Range:	107-118
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Elements
Depositing User:	Symplectic Elements
Date Deposited:	09 Feb 2023 12:19
Last Modified:	11 Oct 2023 17:30
URI:	https://shura.shu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28553

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