Human- Nature Collaborative Relationship: A Critical Posthumanist Analysis of Ismail Fahd Ismail’s The Old Woman and the River

This article explores the relationship between nature and the human in Ismail Fahd Ismail’s The Old Woman and the River (2019) within the context of posthumanism. It also seeks to re-define human- nature relationship by drawing the attention to the necessity of respecting nature’s needs and rights. Furthermore, the article shows, through a detailed analysis of the novel, that human- nature collaboration is rewarded. This aim can be attained by decentering the human, which is seen as the main tenet of contemporary posthumanist thought. By providing a critique of man’s centrality and exceptionalism, the article offers a better understanding of man’s place in the universe. Ismail’s The Old Woman and the River is considered an unconventional tale of war. Rather than presenting a stereotypical narrative of destruction, suffering, and loss, Ismail manages to present a tale of hope. Through his lines, he manages to promote an awareness of the ethical responsibility of the soldiers toward nature during the bloody war between Iraq and Iran. Remarkably, this awareness is ignited by a physically weak but strong-willed old woman. She is able to re-connect man to nature even at a time of war.The article’s core argument here is to show how posthumanism blurs the boundary between human and nature to reinforce a collaborative relationship. Interrogating the work of many leading posthumanist critics, the gap between human and nature is increasingly bridged.  Ismail portrays this unconventional tale of war to give us a new vision of war, life, and existence.