ABSTRACT
The relationship between ecofeminism and science fiction has been explored in the critical works of authors such as Patrick D. Murphy or Eric Otto, but considering the vast amount of literary works classified within the genre, many of the interconnections between ecofeminism and science fiction are still unknown to us. The power of science fiction to imagine the future, and the possible consequences of the decisions taken in our present, enable authors to explore social issues and environmental problems through the identification between reader and protagonist. This process of identification forces readers to reflect on how their current lifestyle may affect future generations and the world we leave them, instead of speculating through data and statistics that sometimes lose their significance because of their complexity. The purpose of this chapter is to explore how Joan Slonczewski’s novel A Door into Ocean deals with the social and environmental problems we face today by extrapolating them into an alternative universe. Slonczewski’s universe is populated, among others, by humans called Valans, and a female species evolved from humans, the Sharers. Even though each species treats the other as alien, we can see how individuals react in different ways to otherness, and how Valans and Sharers live their relationship with the other and with the environment in opposing ways. In this novel, Slonczewski makes use of one of the typical characters of science fiction, the alien, to explore how humans relate to each other, and how they understand the world that surrounds them. This novel is interesting because apart from criticizing unhealthy social systems, it also portrays alternative realities that invite readers to reflect on their very lifestyles from the outsider’s point of view.
