Abstract
This chapter deals with the analysis of Mother Nature, intended as a personification of nature, whose valorisation and figurativisation has evidently changed over time. After the description of the main ideas and features that have been associated with Mother Nature along time, its Western iconography is described moving from the past to the present, and paying particular attention to the main isotopies (intended, in a Greimassian perspective, as the repetition, along a syntagmatic chain, of traits ensuring homogeneity to a discourse-enunciated) and meanings characterising contemporary imaginaries. This also allows highlighting crucial aspects for the development of the following chapters, which will build precisely on some of the elements discussed in these pages to enhance the reflection on the current mythologies of nature.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
In fact, according to the verses of the poem, “In the beginning there was only Chaos, the Abyss/But then Gaia, the Earth, came into being/Her broad bosom the ever-firm foundation of all” (Theog. 116–119, Engl. Trans. in Trzaskoma et al. 2016: 135). The goddess then gave birth to Ouranos (the “starry Heaven”), and by their union more offspring (“Ocean with its deep currents/And also: Coios, Crios, Hyperion, Iapetos/Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne/Gold-crowned Phoibe, and lovely Tethys”, Theog. 133–136, Engl. Trans. in Trzaskoma et al. 2016: 135) also came, with a fundamental impact on the generation of the physical world too.
- 3.
The Anatolian goddess Cybele was also sometimes partially assimilated to aspects of the Earth-goddess Gaia, as well of her possibly Minoan equivalent Rhea and of the harvest-mother goddess Demeter. However, she was an ambivalent deity, symbolising both the creative and the destructive force of Nature (see Roller 1999).
- 4.
- 5.
A number of variants of such a figure exist, also with evident differences related to geographical and temporal contexts. Provided the purposes of this chapter, only this prototypical artefact and the general idea associated with it are considered. For further details on each variant, please refer to the rich archaeological literature on this topic.
- 6.
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Venus_of_Willendorf_frontview_retouched_2.jpg (Accessed: 7 December 2022).
- 7.
In accordance with what stated in Chap. 1, the lower case is used here to highlight the passage from a vision of Nature as a deity and supreme—and thus inaccessible—force to an object of study, which humanity can reach through Science (which, by contrast requires here a capital initial).
- 8.
In his Dialogue Between Nature and an Icelander, for instance, Leopardi (1835 [1824]) described nature as “an enormous woman … seated on the ground, resting her back against a mountain”, whose “countenance [was] both magnificent and terrible” (Engl. Trans. 1882: 73).
- 9.
In order to define a coherent corpus of analysis, only representations explicitly referred to as Mother Nature (or Mother Earth) are taken into consideration in this section, therefore excluding figures such as Poison Ivy (in Batman, as related to both comic books and other media) and others which, while certainly interesting and recalling features typical of Mother Nature, play a different role in the narratives they are part of. Likewise, the analysis does not involve texts where Mother Nature is recalled but does not find a clear personification, as it happens with Eywa, also known as the “Great Mother” or “All-Mother”, in the movie Avatar (Cameron 2009) and its sequel Avatar: The Way of Water (Cameron 2022). The only known deity of the Na’vi, Eywa is presented as the biological sentient guiding force of life and is believed to act to keep the ecosystem of Pandora in equilibrium. It is not seen as an all-powerful, world-creating deity, but rather as a system connecting all living beings (cf. Izzo 2022). While particular entities, such as the Tree of Souls (which allows the Na’vi to connect their tails to its branches, and therefore to each other and to Eywa itself), or individuals, such as Mo’at (the Tsahìk, or spiritual leader, of the Omatikaya clan, who acts as a “bridge” to Eywa), allow a connection to the Great Mother, this does not find a clear personification in the movie. Finally, other representations, such as Te Fiti in the computer-animated musical fantasy action-adventure film Moana (also known as Vaiana or Oceania in some countries) directed by John Musker and Ron Clements (2006), are not considered because they refer to other cultural imaginaries.
- 10.
I.e. “the effect of a return to the enunciation … produced by the suspension of the opposition between certain terms belonging to the categories of actor and/or of space and/or of time, as well as by a negation of the domain of the utterance” (Greimas and Courtés 1979; Engl. Trans. 1982: s.v. “engagement”).
- 11.
I.e. an effect of “expulsion” from the domain of enunciation (cf. Greimas and Courtés 1979; Engl. Trans. 1982: s.v. “disengagement”).
- 12.
Sixteen by its inventor, the Belgian comics artist Peyo, the others by his studio. For an interesting analysis, see in particular Eco (1983 [1979]).
- 13.
Videos posted by “Don Israel” on Fandom, https://www.fandom.com (specific links available in the references).
- 14.
Such as in the episode “All Hallows’ Eve” of season 3 from the Smurfs cartoon show, first aired on May 11, 1983, where Mother Nature, after having mistakenly turned Lazy Smurf red, apologises for this and says that she cannot change him back to blue with her red wand, nor does she own any blue wand, as she only possesses the colours needed for the different seasons. She then leaves him in tears as she says: “But I can’t do anything now, I have work to do; autumn cannot wait further time like this just so” (8’ 48′′–8’ 59′′) (see Fig. 3.5, upper images).
- 15.
Such as in the episode “The Smurfs Springtime Special” of season 1 from the Smurfs cartoon show, first aired on April 8, 1982, where Mother Nature awakens to get ready for the first day of spring (see Fig. 3.5, lower images).
- 16.
See the same episode dedicated to springtime mentioned above.
- 17.
By contrast, as Eco (1983 [1979]: 265) ironically remarked, the Smurfs seem not to be subjected to time, with the only exception of Papa Smurf: “Dunque i puffi vivono nella foresta, sono blu, piccolissimi, di età indefinita, salvo il Gran Puffo, che è vecchio e ha la barba bianca (i puffi vivono in una società gerontocratica perfetta dove tutti sono più o meno infanti e c’è solo un anziano, depositario autoritario ma paterno di tutta la saggezza, …)” [So the Smurfs live in the forest, they are blue, very small, of indefinite age, except for Papa Smurf, who is old and has a white beard (the Smurfs live in a perfect gerontocratic society where everyone is more or less an infant and there is only an elderly, authoritarian but paternal custodian of all wisdom …), my translation].
- 18.
According to the author of Les interations risquées (Landowski 2005), four different regimes underlie meaning-making processes: the “regime of programming” (régime de la programmation) is based on a principle of regularity and arises when the aims previously set by the involved subject are achieved; the “regime of manipulation” (régime de la manipulation) is founded on the logic of intentionality, and follows the classic model of interaction between a subject and an object; the “regime of adjustment” (régime de l’ajustement) relies on perception and the progressive acquisition of special skills, therefore expressing insecurity; finally, the “regime of accident” (régime de l’accident) is based on the logic of chance and risk, and opposes the system of programming as it is untied from any pre-established behaviour.
- 19.
The first image was posted by Roger Blake on Fandom, https://walterlantz.fandom.com/wiki/Mother_Nature?file=Woody_Woodpecker_-_Downsized_Woody_-_02_-_Mother_Nature.jpg; the other three images were posted by Don Israel on Fandom, https://walterlantz.fandom.com/wiki/Teacher%27s_Pet (Accessed: 12 December 2022).
- 20.
A denomination that recalls the Roman Terra or Terra Mater.
- 21.
In the scene from which the frames represented in Fig. 3.8 are taken, for instance, the leaves and lily pads around her move towards her feet, allowing her to walk on water.
- 22.
Posted by ChuckandSarahmyotp on Fandom, https://epic-the-movie.fandom.com/wiki/Queen_Tara?file=Epic-movie-screencaps.com-2724.jpg (first image) and https://epic-the-movie.fandom.com/wiki/Queen_Tara?file=Epic-movie-screencaps.com-2742.jpg (second image) (Accessed: 12 December 2022).
- 23.
Posted by PyroGothNerd on Fandom, https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Mother_Nature?file=Heat-miser-snow-miser-valiantfans-com.jpg (first image) and https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Mother_Nature?file=The_punishment_they_get_by_caressechris-d4gnht8.jpg (second image) (Accessed: 12 December 2022).
- 24.
Posted by WMSWMCQSADAKJM on Fandom, https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Mother_Nature?file=Mothernature.jpg (Accessed: 12 December 2022).
- 25.
Whose format has been sold in various countries of the world, including Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, China, and Vietnam. I focus here on the original Italian version.
- 26.
Five in total.
- 27.
The reference is here to John Berger’s famous reflections reported in Ways of Seeing: “A woman must continually watch herself. She is almost continually accompanied by her own image of herself. … Her own sense of being in herself is supplanted by a sense of being appreciated as herself by another. … One might simplify this by saying: men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relations between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object—and most particularly an object of vision: a sight” (Berger 1972: 46–47). The same dynamics seem in this case to concern the figure of Father Nature too.
- 28.
E.g. by recurring to expressions such as “colei che tutto puote” [the one who can do everything], “colei che tutto muove” [the one who moves everything], “colei che decide la gradazione di tutti gli ingredienti” [the one who decides the gradation of all the ingredients], “Lei, che determina le sorti di tutti noi” [She, who determines the fate of all of us]. Similar expressions are also used to introduce Father Nature—e.g. “L’incanto primigenio che tutto muove. Voi, donne, preparatevi all’incanto” [The primordial enchantment that moves everything… Women, get ready for the enchantment, all translations are mine].
- 29.
The sentence used in the first episode is particularly interesting in this respect: “Giacché la natura è la dominante di ogni evoluzione, la natura è proprio qui. [Signore e signori,] Madre Natura” [Since Nature presides over all evolution processes, Nature is right here. [Ladies and gentlemen,] Mother Nature, my translation].
- 30.
As its composer Karl Jenkins observed, the song was “written phonetically, with the words viewed as instrumental sound” in the aim to “create a sound that [wa]s universal and timeless” (in Barone 2016), without transmitting any specific message (see Taylor 2007). In this sense, it can be considered a case of “musical glossolalia” (as described in Stano 2019).
- 31.
In fact, in the first season, Mother Nature’s body was covered by a long tunic, which, however, being semi-transparent, allowed her body, including intimate parts such as her nipples and glutei, to be half-seen. Moreover, from season 2, the tunic was abandoned, opting for minimal loincloths and bras, generally flesh-coloured and with a few artificial flowers sewn on them. The same applies to Father Nature, whose mostly naked body and generally long hair clearly evoke the typical representation of Tarzan, the archetypical “wild man”. Irony has also sometimes been used to stress the importance of physical appearance: in the 13th episode of season 5 (aired on 15 December 2007), for instance, a fat rather small man is presented as Father Nature, and “greeted” with hilarity and boos of disapproval; a similar reaction was registered when Laurenti himself showed up disguised as Mother Nature in the 5th episode of season 8.
- 32.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOJeYbpyDSM (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 33.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kDT3xmj9bU (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 34.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE85CEM_0zY and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3kY50vV-rQ (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 35.
See, for instance, the example shown in Røstvik (2020: 430).
- 36.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5ZQdDwncCc (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 37.
In the commercials, for instance, they all say: “Mother Nature, not now!”.
- 38.
Directly confronting—and always beating—Mother Nature in tennis matches, public interviews, etc.
- 39.
See, for instance, the examples shown in Røstvik (2020: 432–433).
- 40.
E.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIeYV63ap20 (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 41.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9nQ-0njLHo&t=30s (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 42.
See, for instance, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMg8ldDmHQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQh1tILW7O4 (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 43.
https://www.conservation.org/nature-is-speaking (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 44.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmVLcj-XKnM&t=2s (Accessed: 15 November 2022).
- 45.
Postal and freight services in Norway and abroad.
- 46.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRM5PpsAH4g (Accessed: 16 December 2022).
- 47.
Which seems to have made her become a typical character of Christmas specials and other texts primarily addressed to children.
- 48.
In fact, the absence of the emphasis traditionally put on feeding (e.g. by representing several breasts) is evident. On the contrary, the texts related to the foodsphere (e.g. Chiffon and VitaminWater10 commercials) ironically insist precisely on a supposed superiority of the cultural processes of production of food. This, however, evidently contrasts with a widespread trend in contemporary cultures, where a particular praise for “natural foods” exists—as Chap. 5 will illustrate in further detail.
- 49.
As a result, as highlighted above, the body of Mother Nature is almost totally exposed, and abandons the rounded forms of abundance and fertility to adhere to contemporary standard of beauty and attractiveness. In fact, nakedness and corporeality are very interesting as related to the conception and representation of nature, as I will discuss in detail in Chap. 6.
- 50.
The figure of the “catastrophe” plays in fact a crucial role in contemporary discourses on nature, as discussed in detail in Chap. 4.
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Stano, S. (2023). Mother Nature: Representations, Isotopies, and Meanings. In: Critique of Pure Nature. Numanities - Arts and Humanities in Progress, vol 26. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45075-4_3
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