Novel Seasons : Regeneration through Nature and Art in the age of Climate Change in Ali Smith’s Autumn (2016), Winter (2017), and Spring (2019)

Aside from its role in Brexit literature, Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet joins contemporary novelists in tackling the climate change phenomenon by thinking about time, culture and nature. This thesis examines the ways three novels from this quartet depict an everyday experience of seasonal changes and environmentally inflected emotional distress. It discusses ecofeminist perspectives through Smith’s representation of female artists and their artworks, which help think about our relationship with nature and living in chaotic times. Taking into account climate change’s disruption of phenological patterns, this thesis explores Smith’s ideas of weather, time and seasonality in the novels. In response to Glenn Albrecht’s call for countering negative Earth emotions, this thesis analyzes how these novels counter environmental distress caused by climate change as well as emotions of indifference and detachment between people in present day post-Brexit society. The thesis examines how Smith’s creative exploration of language, art, and nature encourages us to overcome emotional distress and take action against climate change and political injustice.