Kobiety, psy i koty : domowa koegzystencja ludzi i zwierząt w literaturze familijnej

Abstract

The article discusses the issue of living and thinking with pets. The author analyzes examples of popular literature, particularly books addressed to families and women, in order to seek for animal agency in the plot. The thesis is based on an assumption about the special bond between pets and female characters in such novels. Verifying the theory of Yi-Fu Tuan from his book Dominance and Affection. Making of Pets, the article questions pets as an effect of the human tendency to domination over nature and taking comfort in a coherent view of animals. Pets, according to Tuan’s theory, ought to be reflections of human desires and needs. The domination in its roots is male, but its repressive demands involve pets as well as women. This is the premise whereby the special relation between pets and female owners has evolved. That is the reason why it is important to examine the meaning of human-animal relations by considering gender. The space where the bond between women and their pets starts and develops is also significant. The home is the third main character of each novel, and maintains an actually dynamic relation with others.