Animal Kinship in Jane Smiley’s Fiction

Abstract

In Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley’s fiction, there is often a depiction of animal kinship focusing on the emotional bonds between nonhumans, especially the mother-child relationship. Her portrayal of animal community challenges traditional Cartesian and anthropocentric views, emphasizing that animals have deep emotional connections, love, and grief. Through an exploration of animal kinship in Smiley’s fiction Good Will, Horse Heaven, and The Georges and the Jewels, this paper investigates the profound implications of maternal love, attachment, and sacrifice in horses. As to Good Will, the tragic bond between Sparkle and her mother reveals the emotional depth of equines, as the mare experiences immense sufferings over her foal’s accidental death. In Horse Heaven, the mare-foal relationships, including the typical example of Donut and her newborn filly, exhibit their various interactive ways and underscore the importance of maternal care in animals’ growth. As for The Georges and the Jewels, the portrayal of Pearl and her foal Jack praises a mother’s ultimate self-sacrifice, highlighting the universal nature of maternal love across species. Based on animal ethics supported by scholars like Val Plumwood, Cynthia Willett, and Marc Bekoff, the study digs out from Smiley’s works an ethical understanding of animals’ emotional world from animal kinship, calling for recognition of their subjectivity. Through her writings, Smiley unfolds the richness of animal lives, warning people against anthropocentric biases and urging them to recognize the emotional and relational complexity of nonhumans.