Sublime Wonder: Rachel Carson, Nature Writing, and Human-Nature Connection

Abstract

The sublime and beautiful have historically been distinguished based on scale, emotions involved in the response, and the objects typically associated with each. This article forwards a notion of the environmental sublime that challenges hierarchical distinctions between the beautiful and sublime and between domestic spheres and “wilderness.” I argue that sublime wonder denotes a practice in engaging with the more-than-human world in such a way that raises awareness of humankind’s inability to fully comprehend it. By considering sublimity as a largely accessible yet rare experience, this article contributes to theories of the sublime while offering insights for human-nature interaction.

Keywords:

• Environment
• Rachel Carson
• rhetoric
• sublime
• wonder

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See also Cronon (1996) and Plumwood (1993/2003).

2. I borrow “more-than-human” from Abram (1996/1997) to refer to aspects of the environment including but not limited to animals, clouds, terrain, the ocean, plants, and wind. Unlike terms such as “nonhuman,” “more-than-human” acknowledges that animals, land, and more can have cultures, languages, and relationships. The phrase challenges human centeredness in environmental communication.

3. de Bolla distinguishes between discourse of the sublime and discourse on the sublime. Whereas the latter serves to distinguish the sublime from its neighbors, the discourse of the sublime refers to the discourse that produces sublimity paradoxically “from within itself” (p. 35). That is, the sublime—an experience supposedly external to discourse—is produced within discourse.

4. While images also create context (DeLuca & Demo, 2000), in this analysis I focus primarily on Carson’s rhetoric and how her words imbue Kelsh’s images with meaning.

5. Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) explain how close shots facilitate a personal relationship between viewer and the person or object captured.

6. For information on the relationship between environmental destruction and LGBTQ+ oppression, see Gaard (2015).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mollie K. Murphy

Mollie K. Murphy (Ph.D., University of Georgia) is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at Utah State University in Logan. Her research utilizes rhetorical criticism and theory to examine how (and to what effect) advocates for environmental and social justice navigate rhetorical challenges. Mollie uses she/her pronouns. She sincerely thanks Jennifer Peeples and the reviewers for their feedback on earlier versions of this article.