(Eco) Feminism and Translation: Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and El dios de las pequeñas cosas

Abstract

Arundhati Roy is an extraordinary writer and a tireless political activist. Her vast body of work has consistently engaged with social justice issues. She has focused particularly on environmental degradation and human rights abuses, demonstrating her dedication to advocating for the marginalised and challenging the status quo. The God of Small Things (1997), her debut novel, became an immediate best-seller and was translated into over 40 languages within 10 years of its publication. Divided chronologically, between 1969 and 1993, the story is an exploration into female subjectivity outside patriarchal restraints in India. This article presents the novel as a paradigmatic example of ecofeminism, as the story gains resonance when we consider the connection between gender injustices and the appropriation and degradation of nature. My analysis specifically focusses on its translation into Spanish, El dios de las pequeñas cosas (1998), in order to explore whether the Spanish version can be considered an example of feminist translation, a critical method that challenges traditional translation practices and emphasises the ethical implications of translators’ decisions.