Rainforest (novel)
Encyclopedia
Rainforest is a 1987
novel by Jenny Diski
about a young female English academic whose ambitions are to lead a sane and sensible life and to contribute to human
kind's understanding of the natural world
but who eventually has a mental breakdown
when faced with too many people surrounding her who, driven by desire and lust
, behave irrationally
, indifferently
, and irresponsibly
towards her, each other, society, and the planet.
Rainforest is set in London
and Borneo
. Diski says that because of her arachnophobia
she wrote the novel "based entirely on textbooks and three trips to Kew Gardens
' tropical houses" .
as the only child of John Singleton, a scientist and university lecturer, and Marjorie, a housewife. When Mo is still quite young, her father confides in her by telling her that he is betraying his incompetent and simplistic wife with a colleague at the university. Up to her father's premature death at 45 and beyond, Mo is able to keep their secret without once meeting her father's lover.
Following in his footsteps, Mo studies biology
and moves to London, where she gets a job at a university. She enjoys teaching first-year students, especially challenging their faulty assumptions about nature and explaining to them what man's role in the big cycle of things really is. She visits her widowed mother in the country every once in a while and spends pleasant weekends with her, has a satisfactory relationship with her boyfriend Luke, a biochemist, and has started making plans for, and is very much looking forward to, her research project which will take her to an isolated spot in the tropical rainforest
that covers large parts of the island of Borneo
.
When, shortly before her departure, she meets Joe Yates, who has been hired as her replacement for the six month period she will be gone, Mo is both appalled and attracted by his directness but rejects his overt sexual advances as well as his fatalistic
philosophy of life. In Borneo, she behaves very professionally, fervently believing that through her academic work she will increase the sum total of human knowledge about the tropical rainforest.
Her mental breakdown is already looming but Mo is not yet aware of it. Her mind starts deteriorating rapidly when in the middle of her stay in Borneo, Joe Yates pays her a surprise visit. Questioning the validity and relevance of her findings, he eventually succeeds in seducing her—they have wild, unbridled sex in the wilderness—only to tell her afterwards that he is only passing through and his current girlfriend, one of his students, is actually waiting for him in the nearest town. Mo has to be flown back to England and is institutionalized. News of her beloved colleague Liam deserting his wife and young children for a first-year student only makes matters worse.
After her recovery, Mo gives up her academic career and becomes a cleaning lady
, working to a fixed schedule and enjoying "the detail and planning involved." She sees a psychiatrist once a week and still has the occasional nightmare
about the rainforest.
1987 in literature
The year 1987 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Wolfe was paid $5 million for the film rights to his novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, the most ever earned by an author, at the time.-Fiction:...
novel by Jenny Diski
Jenny Diski
-External links:***...
about a young female English academic whose ambitions are to lead a sane and sensible life and to contribute to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
kind's understanding of the natural world
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
but who eventually has a mental breakdown
Mental breakdown
Mental breakdown is a non-medical term used to describe an acute, time-limited phase of a specific disorder that presents primarily with features of depression or anxiety.-Definition:...
when faced with too many people surrounding her who, driven by desire and lust
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
, behave irrationally
Irrationality
Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate reasoning, emotional distress, or cognitive deficiency...
, indifferently
Indifference
Indifference may refer to:* Indifference or apathy, a psychological attitude* "Indifference" , an episode of Law & Order* Indifference curve, in microeconomic theory, a graph describing consumer preferences...
, and irresponsibly
Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility usually refers to the idea that a person has moral obligations in certain situations. Disobeying moral obligations, then, becomes grounds for justified punishment. Deciding what justifies punishment, if anything, is a principle concern of ethics.People who have moral...
towards her, each other, society, and the planet.
Rainforest is set in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
. Diski says that because of her arachnophobia
Arachnophobia
Arachnophobia or arachnephobia is a specific phobia, the fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. It is a manifestation of zoophobia, among the most common of all phobias. The reactions of arachnophobics often seem irrational to others...
she wrote the novel "based entirely on textbooks and three trips to Kew Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
' tropical houses" .
Plot summary
Mo Singleton grows up in rural SussexSussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
as the only child of John Singleton, a scientist and university lecturer, and Marjorie, a housewife. When Mo is still quite young, her father confides in her by telling her that he is betraying his incompetent and simplistic wife with a colleague at the university. Up to her father's premature death at 45 and beyond, Mo is able to keep their secret without once meeting her father's lover.
Following in his footsteps, Mo studies biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and moves to London, where she gets a job at a university. She enjoys teaching first-year students, especially challenging their faulty assumptions about nature and explaining to them what man's role in the big cycle of things really is. She visits her widowed mother in the country every once in a while and spends pleasant weekends with her, has a satisfactory relationship with her boyfriend Luke, a biochemist, and has started making plans for, and is very much looking forward to, her research project which will take her to an isolated spot in the tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
that covers large parts of the island of Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
.
When, shortly before her departure, she meets Joe Yates, who has been hired as her replacement for the six month period she will be gone, Mo is both appalled and attracted by his directness but rejects his overt sexual advances as well as his fatalistic
Fatalism
Fatalism is a philosophical doctrine emphasizing the subjugation of all events or actions to fate.Fatalism generally refers to several of the following ideas:...
philosophy of life. In Borneo, she behaves very professionally, fervently believing that through her academic work she will increase the sum total of human knowledge about the tropical rainforest.
Her mental breakdown is already looming but Mo is not yet aware of it. Her mind starts deteriorating rapidly when in the middle of her stay in Borneo, Joe Yates pays her a surprise visit. Questioning the validity and relevance of her findings, he eventually succeeds in seducing her—they have wild, unbridled sex in the wilderness—only to tell her afterwards that he is only passing through and his current girlfriend, one of his students, is actually waiting for him in the nearest town. Mo has to be flown back to England and is institutionalized. News of her beloved colleague Liam deserting his wife and young children for a first-year student only makes matters worse.
After her recovery, Mo gives up her academic career and becomes a cleaning lady
Domestic worker
A domestic worker is a man, woman or child who works within the employer's household. Domestic workers perform a variety of household services for an individual or a family, from providing care for children and elderly dependents to cleaning and household maintenance, known as housekeeping...
, working to a fixed schedule and enjoying "the detail and planning involved." She sees a psychiatrist once a week and still has the occasional nightmare
Nightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
about the rainforest.
See also
- School and university in literatureSchool and university in literature-School in literature:*Thomas Bailey Aldrich: The Story of a Bad Boy*Laurie Halse Anderson: Speak*Christine Anlauff: Good morning, Lehnitz*F...
- Environmental fiction books
External links
- James Hopkin: "In the Green Team. How Eco-critics Are Sending Ripples through Literature", The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
(May 12, 2001) (with references to Jonathan BateJonathan BateJonathan Bate CBE FBA FRSL is a British academic, biographer, critic, broadcaster, novelist and scholar of Shakespeare, Romanticism and Ecocriticism...
et al.).