The Vision of Sustainability through the Readjustment of Environment and Consciousness: Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust

환경과 의식의 재조정을 통한 생명지속성의 비전 -카렌 헤세의 『모래폭풍을 지나며』

This paper intends to suggest the positive, ecological vision of sustainability in Karen Hesse's Out of the Dust that Billie Jo Kelby recovers herself through her readjustment of interior consciousness and outer environment in her tragic situations caused by the Dust Bowl. In spite of her desires for happiness and affluence of home, she loses her mother and brother, and her musical talent as a pianist, and lies in self-abandonment. But she finally raises up herself with her courage and patience, reconciliating with the nature and ameliorating the community by taking care of the devastated landscapes. Hence it is appropriate to approach the loss-recovery process of nature and consciousness with ecological solutions, The Dust Bowl breaks down human mind and body, and eventually leads to the situations of despairs and death. Hesse proposes the primary solution that humans should reconstruct their interior consciousness and participate in recovering the nature because humans are inevitably linked with nature. In this novel, the nature takes a dynamic and active role as a catalyst, reconciling the self with other humans and settling with the conflicting situations in history and culture. This verse novel as an active, self-ordering, and corrective process gives the more intense ecological message. As Hesse defines the setting of Dirty Thirties as a channel of energy, she creates the utmost effects of ecological process that human and environment are part of a total situation, representing the transactional formulation, each conditioned by conditioning to the other. Therefore Billie Jo takes her part as an interpreter and actualizes herself, understanding the nature with metaphor and symbol. Eventually Billie Jo realizes that she should rebuild her environment not out of the dust but in the dust, accepting the reality of Dust Bowl.