Adapting The Tempest: Explorations in Ecophenomenology examines five female-authored novelizations of The Tempest, showing how they engage the play in a spirit of transgressive dialogism. A major through-line linking each chapter is the articulation of an updated self, one that encompasses the biological and the psychological. Philosopher Thomas Metzinger s lucid theorization of selfhood seeds this study s approach. A dedicated materialist, Metzinger nonetheless addresses the interiorizing that defines humanness. This book extends Metzinger s theories by arguing for ecophenomenology, which harmonizes awareness of humans embedment in the world with the storytelling and reflective consciousness that define our species. Re-reading The Tempest in tandem with the five novels demonstrates the benefits of an ecophenomenological approach to selfhood.
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Understanding the Ego Tunnel in Mrs. Caliban.- Chapter 3: Indigo s Challenge to The Tempest.- Chapter 4: The Politics of Selfhood in A Mercy and The Tempest.- Chapter 5: The Story-Making Self in The Lightkeepers.- Chapter 6: The Self/World Accord in Hag-Seed: Reviving The Tempest.
Elizabeth D. Gruber is Professor of English in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Writing at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania, USA. Previous publications include Renaissance Ecopolitics from Shakespeare to Bacon: Rethinking Cosmopolis (2017) and The Eco-Self in Early Modern English Literature (2023).
