METAPHOR AND IDEOLOGY IN CLIMATE FICTION: A COGNITIVE STYLISTIC APPROACH

Abstract

This study explores the intersection of metaphor and ideology in contemporary Anglophone climate fiction, analyzing how figurative language shapes environmental perception and encodes ideological positions on climate change. Drawing on frameworks from cognitive stylistics and ecocriticism, the research examines how conceptual metaphors such as "the Earth is a patient" or "climate change is war" influence narrative structure, reader empathy, and ethical engagement. The study conducts a detailed stylistic analysis of selected novels—Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, The Overstory by Richard Powers, and The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson—to investigate how metaphor operates not only as a linguistic device but as a cognitive and ideological tool. Findings suggest that metaphorical framing plays a critical role in shaping readers’ conceptualizations of ecological crisis, often reinforcing or challenging dominant discourses around sustainability, agency, and responsibility. By placing metaphor at the center of analysis, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of how climate fiction not only narrates ecological breakdown but also participates in the ideological struggle over how we imagine the future of the planet.

Keywords: Climate fiction; cognitive stylistics; conceptual metaphor; ecocriticism; environmental ideology; figurative language; narrative empathy; metaphor framing; climate change narratives; eco-narratology