Representing Eco-Anxiety in Contemporary English Fiction: An Ecocritical Study of Novels Published Between 2020 and 2023

Abstract

The increasing severity of climate change has transformed eco-anxiety into one of the defining emotional and cultural experiences of the twenty-first century. While eco-anxiety has received considerable attention in psychology, environmental studies, and climate communication, its literary representation in contemporary English fiction remains comparatively underexplored. Existing literary scholarship has primarily focused on climate fiction (cli-fi) as a genre, with limited attention to the narrative and aesthetic strategies through which recent novels portray eco-anxiety as an emotional, ethical, and ecological condition.

This study investigates how English novels published between 2020 and 2023 represent eco-anxiety through characterization, narrative voice, symbolism, and depictions of human–nature relationships. Guided by ecocritical theory and affect theory, the study employs qualitative critical analysis of selected contemporary novels to examine the ways climate-related fear, uncertainty, ecological grief, and resilience are constructed within literary narratives. The study further explores how these representations challenge anthropocentric worldviews and encourage ecological consciousness among readers.

The research contributes to contemporary literary and environmental humanities by addressing the limited scholarship on eco-anxiety as a central literary motif in post-2020 English fiction. It also expands current ecocritical discussions by demonstrating how literature not only reflects the psychological consequences of climate change but also imagines alternative ecological futures and forms of environmental hope.