The Fury’s Revenge: An Ecofeminist Reading of Olga Tokarczuk’s Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

Abstract

In this reading of Olga Tokarczuk’s novel Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, the theme of revenge is explored, as it relates to the protagonist’s ecofeminist revolt against what she considers to be a male-dominated society, which disregards human and animal life in its pursuit of power and profit. The novel is investigated through an analysis of plot structure and character analysis, and reveals how Janina Duszejko, an irate elderly lady – a former bridge engineer, now English teacher, Blake translator and hobby astrologer – constantly appears in the thick of things. By the twists and turns of events, be they caused by human will, animal agency or by planetary constellations, Tokarczuk lets mythical figurations appear, such as the Fury and the Wolf, whereby the destructive powers of nature are unleashed. By interpreting the subtle hints planted throughout the narrative, a final solution to the crime mystery is uncovered.