Stories that a Tree would Tell: Folktales as Phyto-Narratives

Abstract

The intricate tapestry of human interactions with the natural world has long been woven into the fabric of folk tales, literature, and art, coalescing in the critical theories of Environmental Humanities. With plants as the subject of study, narratives that represent phyto-life in art and literature fall within the ambit of Critical Plant Studies in the Humanities today. This exploration highlights the evolution of such narratives from a geocentric perspective to understand the cultural roots of symbiosis with nature. In examining select folk tales from Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk About by Margaret Read MacDonald, this paper seeks to illuminate the phyto-stories that trees tell, advocating for a deeper ecological awareness. Ultimately, this study contributes to a growing discourse that challenges anthropocentric perspectives and honours the vital interdependencies between animal/human beings and the ecosystems that cradle their stories.