(University of Oregon, 2021-09-13) Zabel, Verena; Lim, Susanna
In my thesis, I am analysing Soviet Kazakh writer Abdizhamil Nurpeisov's novel Final Respects. I argue that Nurpeisov's novel presents both environmentalist criticism and a multivocal description of Soviet Kazakh identity. Nurpeisov's complex social analysis of Kazakh identity is expressed through the narrative style. The narrative structure itself gives voice to multiple points of view through shifting narrative voice(s) and focalisation(s). This reflects the various opinions and worldviews of the Kazakh population, oscillating between traditionality and sovietisation. Neither Soviet influence nor Kazakh identity are depicted as monolithic. Similarly, the novel's ecocriticism and its depiction of women is complex and multifaceted. Women are often essentialised through negative characteristics, but the novel also parallels gender oppression with environmental exploitation. While the juxtaposition of women and nature echoes ecofeminist criticism, the negative essentialisation of women contradicts a direct ecofeminist interpretation.
