UC Santa Barbara

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate mastery within the field of Literature and the Environment and the French-language literature on this subject. I have selected texts that best demonstrate both the general and more specific theories expressed by scholars of Literature and the Environment in both the English and French traditions. For example, I explore concepts related to ecocriticism, aesthetics, feminist studies, postcolonial studies, and animal studies. I discuss each of these themes as they fit into the field of Literature and the Environment, and more specifically as they relate to the topic of my paper. Using theories of Literature and the Environment, my paper explores the construction of the Arctic imaginary in early and mid-nineteenth century British and French fiction. Specifically, I argue that Arctic-inspired fiction during this time utilized the imaginary in its creation of Arctic wilderness to grapple with the unfamiliarly of the space and the difficulty of accurate representation in European aesthetic codes. I support this argument with two sections, one on wilderness and one on the myths and figures transported into Arctic space. Both sections implement theories of Literature and the Environment and critical theory on Arctic space to support my claims. To make these claims, I specifically refer to the following works: The Captain of the Polestar by Arthur Conan Doyle, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Laura: Voyage dans le cristal by George Sand, and Voyages et aventures du capitaine Hatteras by Jules Verne. This paper fits into my larger interest in Literature and the Environment, Arctic Studies, and Nineteenth Century Fiction. To satisfy the exam requirements, this paper exists in the form of a fifty-page essay.