Human Resilience and the Crisis of Industrial Progress in Anita Desai’s The Village by the Sea: An Ecocritical Study

Abstract

This paper examines Anita Desai’s The Village by the Sea (1982) through an ecocritical lens, highlighting the novel’s portrayal of the intricate relationship between human resilience and the natural environment. Set in a coastal village threatened by industrial expansion, Desai’s narrative exposes the ecological consequences of modernization and the moral costs of human alienation from nature. The study situates the novel within the discourse of human ecology, emphasizing how characters like Hari and Lila embody an ethical consciousness rooted in coexistence rather than exploitation. Through close textual analysis, this paper reveals Desai’s critique of industrial greed, pollution, and social displacement as symptomatic of a deeper ecological crisis. The research argues that The Village by the Sea articulates an early South Asian ecological awareness, one that envisions environmental ethics not as an abstract philosophy but as a lived reality shaped by poverty, survival, and cultural belonging. Ultimately, Desai’s vision affirms the possibility of ecological harmony through empathy and moral responsibility toward the natural world.