While nature is not Wolfe's subject per se, its pervasive and integral presence throughout his narratives suggests that he tended to conceive and legitimate human dramas in the broader context of the nonhuman world. However, despite nature's central role in his texts, there have been surprisingly few "environmental studies" of Wolfe's fiction whose sole purpose has been to address his treatment of the natural environment. Moreover, in the vast majority of cases where Wolfean nature is addressed, the context is usually other than nature (most often concerning language, style, and Wolfean themes) and from a non-ecocritical perspective. This is primarily due to the fact that it has only been recently that ecocriticism has offered an ecological theory, perspective, method, and language for evaluating the significance and meaning of nature in texts. It is also the case that Wolfe's celebrated prose style (and the polemics over its aesthetic merits) has encouraged this literary bias in addressing the presence of nature in Wolfe's texts. Taken collectively, these factors explain why, despite the fact that Wolfe's texts are richly laden with references to the natural world, there have been so few studies which focus exclusively on his treatment of nature. Yet, in fact, Wolfe treats nature as the overarching context in human existence, as well as viewing all environments (organic and inorganic, natural and human-made) from an ecological perspective. Overall, his works reflect an eco-consciousness which seems as palpable and compelling as that of any nature writer.
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