Alternative Environmental Imagination in Anita Desai’s TheVillage by the Sea: An Econarratological Approach

The present paper tends to read Anita Desai’s The Village by the Sea (۱۹۸۲) through the lens of ErinJames’ econarratological approach. The current study synthesizes contextual and cognitive narratologiesto analyze the novel’s storyworld to highlight “focalization technique” and other key textual cues withinthe text that encourage readers to model and inhabit locally informed environmental experiences. Readersstand to experience this environmental imagination by employing the “immersive power” of Desai’snovel, and therefore they may lose track of time and feel that they are immersed in “alternativeenvironmental imagination” of India predicated on an emerging national identity.