Connecting Theory and Fiction: Margaret Atwood's Novels and Second Wave Feminism

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Connecting Theory and Fiction: Margaret Atwood's Novels and Second Wave Feminism Durham E-Theses Connecting theory and ction: Margaret Atwood's novels and second wave feminism Tolan, Fiona How to cite: Tolan, Fiona (2004) Connecting theory and ction: Margaret Atwood's novels and second wave feminism, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2972/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Fiona Tolan Connecting Theory and Fiction: Margaret Atwood's Novels and Second Wave Feminism Abstract This thesis undertakes an examination of the manner in which a novelist interacts with a contemporary theoretical discourse. I argue that the novelist and the theoretical discourse enter into a symbiotic relationship in which each influences and is influenced by the other. This process, I suggest, is simultaneous and complex. The thesis demonstrates how the prevailing theoretical discourse is absorbed by the contemporary author, is developed and redefined in conjunction with alternative concerns, and comes to permeate the narrative in an altered state. The novelist's new perspectives, frequently problematising theoretical claims, are then disseminated by the novel, promoting further discussion and development of the theoretical discourse. The thesis focuses on the novels of Margaret Atwood, considering them in relation to the history and development of second wave feminism. "Second wave feminism" is understood as an umbrella term that incorporates a wide variety of related but diverse and occasionally contradictory discourses, centring on the subjects of gender, femininity, and sexuality. The focus of the discussion is dual and presented simultaneously. Atwood's novels are analysed chronologically, and within the parameter of this analysis I demonstrate how her work has been influenced by earlier feminist theories, how it comments upon a variety of contemporary feminist ideas, and how it can be seen to anticipate further discussions within feminist discourse. Finally, I identify moments in Atwood's writing when alternative discourses compete with feminism to create new directions for feminist criticism. Examples of these discourses include Canadian nationalism, liberalism, communitarianism and environmentalism. The specificity of the novelist's interests and politics create a unique site of interaction for feminism which, I argue, benefits feminist theory by challenging, broadening and diversifying its focus. The thesis concludes that the symbiotic relationship of the theorist and the novelist is self-perpetuating and is also necessary and beneficial to both parties. Connecting Theory and Fiction: Margaret Atwood's Novels and Second Wave Feminism Fiona Tolan PhD University of Durham Department of English Studies 2004 A copyrigllnt of this tlb.esns rests with the arlllthor. No quotation from nt sllnould be pubDished witllnout his prior wriUellll consel!llt and illlformatftol!ll dlernvedl from it shouDd be adrnowledlged. ~ 3 JlJl 2004 Acknowledgements Many people supported and advised me during the writing of this thesis, and made my time at the University of Durham a happy and productive one. In particular, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Patricia Waugh, whose help, guidance and support was invaluable. Without her encouragement, inspiration and good humour, my experience would have been poorer. I would also like to thank those who supported me financially: the Department of English Studies at the University of Durham gave me a much-needed studentship; the Canadian High Commission funded a research visit to the University of Toronto; the British Federation of Women Graduates gave me a research grant; and I received travel funds from the Durham University Graduate Society (now Ustinov College) and from the British Association of Canadian Studies Literature Group. The friends I met in Durham made my time here a pleasure: Shilpa, Eva, Marko, Jelena, Julie, Doug, Achilleas, Heleen, Pamela, Greg, Olga, Angel, Naima, Eddie, Veronique, Rainer, Maria-Jose, Thomas, Maria-Angelica. Thank you to my family: Sarah, John, Shaun and Kevin. And finally, thank you to Marco, who was always there. Declaration The whole of this thesis is the result of the independent work of the author. No part of the material contained in the thesis has previously been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including electronic and the internet, without the author's prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. © Fiona Tolan 2004 Table of Contents • Introduction .............................................................................. 1 • Context: A Literary Critical Perspective 4 • Readers, Writers, and Communication 8 • Chapter One "The Edible Woman: The Psychology of Early Second Wave Feminism" ... 13 • Why Can't a Woman be More Like a Man? 15 • Hysterical Discourse 26 • Psychoanalysis and the Consumer Culture 30 • Psychoanalysis and Mock-Romance 35 • Chapter Two "Surfacing: Origins and Identity" ....................................................39 • A Peculiarly Canadian Feminism 40 • Authenticity and the Wilderness Quest 42 • Ecofeminism and "The Great Canadian Victim Complex" 46 • Object Relations Theory: The Omnipotent Mother 49 • Nature and the Female Body 53 • Guilt and Innocence 55 • Liberalism and the Essential Self 58 • Chapter Three "Lady Oracle: Postmodernism and the Body" .....................................63 • The Postmodern Aesthetic 63 • The Democratisation of the Author 68 • Postmodernism and Feminism 71 • Textuality and the Inescapable Prison 75 • Matrophobia 78 • Gender and Masquerade 88 • Chapter Four "Life Before Man: Feminism and Science" .........................................91 • The Sociobiology of the 1970s 92 • Atwood's Darwin 95 • Feminism and Science or The Pregnant Palaeontologist 100 • Science and Nature: The Will to Power 104 • The Feminist Response to Darwin 110 • Chapter Five "Bodily Harm: The Imprisoning Gaze" ............................................. 120 • The Power of the Gaze 122 • Tourism: The Disembodied Gaze 129 e A Gothic Fairytale 133 • The Gothic Other 139 • The Question of Responsibility 141 e Chapter Six "The Handmaid's Tale: Second Wave Feminism as Anti-Utopia" ............ 145 ., Utopia and Anti-Utopia 147 e Feminist Eutopias 157 • Liberals and Communitarians 159 o Metafiction and Metahistory 169 • Chapter Seven "Cat's Eye: Articulating the Body" ..................................................173 • French Feminism and the Essential Body 175 • Fashion and the Construction of Gender 179 • Articulating the Body 188 • Beginnings 191 • Images of the Unconscious and the Semiotic - 193 • To Reconnect the Body 196 e Chapter Eight "The Robber Bride: The Other Woman in Post-Colonial Discourse" ........ 200 • Black Feminism 201 • Atwood as Post-Colonial Writer 203 • The Other Woman 205 • "Other" Women 209 • A Double-Voiced Discourse 212 • Orientalism and Exoticism 215 • Zenia: Double and Other 219 • Chapter Nine "Alias Grace: Narrating the Self' ....................................................225 • Patchwork Quilts 227 • Can Grace Speak? 230 • Telling Stories 234 • The Discourse of Madness 237 • Revealing the Self 244 • Chapter Ten "The Blind Assassin: The End of Feminism?" .....................................253 • Postfeminism 254 • A More Postmodern Feminism? 258 • Myth and Metaphor 260 • Personal or Political? 267 • Transcendence and the Ageing Body 269 • The End of Feminism? 272 • Conclusion ................................................................................276 • Original Scholarship 279 • Beyond 2000. 284 • Works Cited .............................................................................. 289 1 Introduction "I live in the society; I also put the society inside my books so that you get a box within a box effect." (Margaret Atwood) 1 Any undertaking to examine the nature of the relationship between fiction and theory is immediately problematic. So many of the most elemental aspects of the discussion are contentious. How can a novelist be said to relate to a particular theory to which they claim no allegiance, and further, how can the abstractions of a theoretical discourse be said to enter into a relationship with a novelist? And more pertinently, if such a relationship is to be presumed to exist, is it demonstrable? The novelist to be considered here is Margaret Atwood, and her work will be examined in conjunction with second wave feminism. Atwood is thought to be an appropriate subject for two reasons; firstly, her career, which for this purpose is dated from the writing of her first novel in 1965, spans the four decades in which second wave feminism has so actively developed and counter-developed, and secondly, because
Recommended publications
  • Affective Strategies in Novels of the Spanish
    Dr Stuart Davis, Girton College, Cambridge Reading beyond Cognitive Meaning: Affective Strategies in Novels of the Spanish “Memory Boom” The twenty-first century “memory boom” in Spain has resulted in a plethora of writing and fictions in which the civil war and the early years of Franco’s dictatorship feature prominently. Studies of these works have addressed representations of memory and trauma, recognizing how the authors reanimate the past and narrate stories of conflict and loss to a readership, distanced from the historical events. This essay explores four texts, identifying the strategies that have shaped their circulation in the current affective economy. Analysis pays particular attention to text, but also explores the image as formative in the reading experience. Durante el "boom de la memoria" del siglo XXI en España se han publicado una gran cantidad de libros y ficciones que han utilizado como fondo narrativo la guerra civil o los primeros años de la dictadura franquista. Los análisis de estas obras han abordado sus representaciones de las memorias y el trauma, reconociendo la tarea de los autores en recrear el pasado y en narrar a los lectores, lejanos de los acontecimientos históricos, historias del conflicto y de las pérdidas personales. Este trabajo examina cuatro textos, identificando las estrategias que han influido su circulación en una economía afectiva actual. El análisis presta atención al texto, pero también explora como la imagen informa la lectura de estas historias. During the recent “memory boom” of writing concerning the Spanish civil war and Francoist dictatorship many books have been sold and critical ink spilt as we examine the nature of the representation of the period, the recovery of memory and the ongoing need to engage with the trauma and repression of recent Spanish historical events.
    [Show full text]
  • Nopf Leday Hing Up
    Fall 2009 THE KNOPF DOUBLEDAY PUBLISHING GROUP DOUBLEDAY The Knopf NAN A. TALESE Doubleday KNOPF Publishing PANTHEON SCHOCKEN Group EVERYMAN’S LIBRARY VINTAGE ANCHOR THE IMPRINTS OF THE KNOPF DOUBLEDAY GROUP AND THEIR COLOPHONS Catalog, Final files_cvr_MM AA.indd 1 3/5/09 6:48:32 PM Fa09_TOC_FINAL_r2.qxp 3/10/09 12:05 PM Page 1 The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Fall 2009 Doubleday and Nan A. Talese.............................................................3 Alfred A. Knopf................................................................................43 Pantheon and Schocken ..................................................................107 Everyman’s Library........................................................................133 Vintage and Anchor........................................................................141 Group Author Index .......................................................................265 Group Title Index ...........................................................................270 Foreign Rights Representatives ........................................................275 Ordering Information .....................................................................276 Fa09_TOC_FINAL.qxp:Fa09_TOC 3/6/09 2:13 PM Page 2 Doubleday DdAaYy Nan A. Talese Catalog, Final files_dvdrs_MM AA.indd 3 3/5/09 6:43:33 PM DD-Fa09_FINAL MM.qxp 3/6/09 3:53 PM Page 3 9 0 0 2 L L FA DD-Fa09_FINAL MM.qxp 3/6/09 3:53 PM Page 4 DD-Fa09_FINAL MM.qxp 3/6/09 3:53 PM Page 5 INDEXF O A UTHORS Ackroyd, Peter, THE CASEBOOK Lethem, Jonathan,
    [Show full text]
  • Juan E. De Castro. Mario Vargas Llosa. Public Intellectual in Neoliberal Latin America
    Juan E. De Castro. Mario Vargas Llosa. Public Intellectual in Neoliberal Latin America. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2011. Print. 179 Pp. ──────────────────────────────── CARLOS AGUIRRE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON Mario Vargas Llosa, one of Latin America’s most important writers and intellectuals and the recipient of, among numerous other awards, the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature, is not only the author of an admirable corpus of novels, theater plays, and essays on literary criticism, but also somebody that has been at the center on countless political and literary controversies ever since he came into the literary and political spotlight in 1962 when he won the Biblioteca Breve award for his novel Time of the Hero at the age of twenty-six: the novel was received with great hostility in his home country, Peru, where prominent members of the military accused him of being a Communist and a traitor; in 1967, when he won the Rómulo Gallegos prize for his novel The Green House, he engaged in a dispute (at that time private) with Cuban officials such as Haydeé Santamaría who allegedly wanted him to make a fake donation of the cash prize to Che Guevara’s guerrilla movements; in 1971, he publicly and loudly denounced the Cuban government after the imprisonment and public recounting of Heberto Padilla and other writers accused of counter-revolutionary activities; in 1974, he criticized the confiscation of media in Peru by a military regime that he had hitherto supported and became the subject of a fierce polemic in his country; in 1976, he was
    [Show full text]
  • MS ATWOOD, Margaret Papers Coll
    MS ATWOOD, Margaret Papers Coll. 00127L Gift of Margaret Atwood, 2017 Extent: 36 boxes and items (11 metres) Includes extensive family and personal correspondence, 1940s to the present; The Handmaid’s Tale TV series media; Alias Grace TV series media; The Heart Goes Last dead matter; appearances; print; juvenilia including papier mache puppets made in high school; Maternal Aunt Joyce Barkhouse (author of Pit Pony and Anna’s Pet), fan mail; professional correspondence and other material Arrangement note: correspondence was organized in various packets and has been kept in original order, rather than alphabetical or chronological order Restriction note: Puppets are restricted due to their fragility (Boxes 26-29). Box 1 Family correspondence, 1970s-1980s: 95 folders Parents (Carl and Margaret Eleanor Atwood) Aunt Kae Cogswell Aunt Ada Folder 1 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS and envelope January 2, 1969 [sic] 1970 Folder 2 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS and envelope March 30, 1970 Folder 3 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS and envelope April 21, 1970 Folder 4 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS and ALS, envelope April 29, 1970 Folder 5 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS August 20, 1970 Folder 6 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS September 6, 1970 Folder 7 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS, ANS and envelope September 17, 1970 1 MS ATWOOD, Margaret Papers Coll. 00127L Folder 8 Mother to Peggy ALS September 19, 1970 Folder 9 Dad to Peggy ALS September 26, 1970 Folder 10 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS (stamps) and envelope October 14, 1970 Folder 11 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS November 10, 1970 Folder 12 Mother to Peggy ALS November 15, 1970 Folder 13 Mother to Peggy and Jim ALS December 20, 1970 Folder 14 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS and envelope December 27, 1970 Folder 15 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS and envelope January 8, 1971 Folder 16 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS and envelope January 15, 1971 Folder 17 Mother to Peggy and Jim TLS January 20, 1971 TLS and envelope January 27, 1971 Folder 18 Mother to Peggy ALS and envelope November 25, 1973 2 MS ATWOOD, Margaret Papers Coll.
    [Show full text]
  • Susan Sontag Papers, Circa 1907-2009 LSC.0612
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2489n7qw No online items Susan Sontag papers, circa 1907-2009 LSC.0612 Finding aid prepared by Lorain Wang and Catherine Lee, 2002; revised by Lauren McDaniel, 2008; revised by Mitchell Erzinger and Lori Dedeyan, 2014; revised by Yvonne Eadon, Patricia Ciccone, and Cheryl Cordingley, 2018-2019. UCLA Library Special Collections Online finding aid last updated 2020 November 4. Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575 [email protected] URL: https://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections Susan Sontag papers, circa LSC.0612 1 1907-2009 LSC.0612 Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections Title: Susan Sontag papers Creator: Sontag, Susan, 1933-2004. Identifier/Call Number: LSC.0612 Physical Description: 180 Linear Feet(283 boxes, 68 oversize boxes, 1 oversize folder, 2 hard drives.) Physical Description: 7.7 Gigabytes(64,461 digital files.) Date (inclusive): circa 1907-2009 Date (bulk): circa 1933-2004 Abstract: Susan Sontag (1933-2004) was an American writer, director, and political activist. She authored numerous essays, short stories, novels, and non-fiction books, as well as films and plays that she also directed in the United States and abroad. The recipient of many honors and awards throughout her life, Sontag's works have been translated into over thirty languages. The contents of the Susan Sontag Papers reflect her intelligence, energy, and the seamless integration of her wide-ranging interests in her work and life. In addition to notes, research, and manuscript material related to her writing, theatre, and film projects, the collection includes the following: personal and professional correspondence; journals; schoolwork; teaching material; ephemera and correspondence related to her public appearances, institutional involvement, and political activism; publicity and press; highlights from her library; personal and professional photographs; personal materials including calendars and notes; along with digital materials.
    [Show full text]
  • MARGARET ATWOOD: WRITING and SUBJECTIVITY Also by Colin Nicholson
    MARGARET ATWOOD: WRITING AND SUBJECTIVITY Also by Colin Nicholson POEM, PURPOSE, PLACE: Shaping Identity in Contemporary Scottish Verse ALEXANDER POPE: Essays for the Tercentenary (editor) CRITICAL APPROACHES TO THE FICTION OF MARGARET LAURENCE (editor) IAN CRICHTON SMITH: New Critical Essays (editor) Margaret Atwood photo credit: Graeme Gibson Margaret Atwood: Writing and Subjectivity New Critical Essays Edited by Colin Nicholson Senior Lecturer in English University of Edinburgh M St. Martin's Press Editorial material and selection © Colin Nicholson 1994 Text © The Macmillan Press Ltd 1994 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published in Great Britain 1994 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-0-333-61181-4 ISBN 978-1-349-23282-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-23282-6 First published in the United States of America 1994 by Scholarly and Reference Division, ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 978-0-312-10644-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Margaret Atwood : writing and subjectivity I edited by Colin Nicholson.
    [Show full text]
  • 2021 Creative Writing Exam Reading Lists
    2021 Creative Writing Exam Reading Lists Fiction Kate Bernheimer, “Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale,” from The Writer’s Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House Eudora Welty, The Eye of the Story Susan Sontag, “On Style” from Against Interpretation Donald Barthleme, “Not-Knowing” from Not Knowing: The Essays and Interviews of Donald Barthelme John C. Gardner, The Art of Fiction George Plimpton and Margaret Atwood, Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews, 3rd edition Francine Prose, Reading Like A Writer Jane Smiley, 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel James Baldwin, “The Art of Fiction Interview. No 78” In Paris Review Samuel Delany, About Writing Raymond Carver, ed. American Short Story Masterpieces Anthony Doerr and Heidi Pitlor, Best American Short Stories 2019 Laura Furman, The O. Henry PriZe Stories 100th Anniversary Edition (2019) Ben Marcus, ed. New American Stories Nonfiction/Memoir Adrienne Rich, “When We Dead Awaken”, in On Lies, Secrets, and Silence Jhumpa Laniri, In Other Words Claudia Rankine, CitiZen bell hooks, Remembered Rapture David Foster Wallace, “Consider the Lobster” Charles Johnson, “I Call Myself an Artist” in I Call Myself an Artist, edited by Rudolph P. Byrd Margot Singer and Nicole Walker, eds. Bending Genre “The Invention of Autobiography,” in Patricia Hampl, I Could Tell You Stories Karen Tei Yamashita, Letters to Memory Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between The World and Me Roland Barthes, RB RB Michael Downs, “Me, Myself, I: Idiosyncrasy and Structure in Nonfiction” in Triquarterly Jesmyn Ward, Men We Reaped Ander Monson, “The Designed Essay: Design as Essay” Jonathan Lethem, “The Ecstasy of Influence” Philip Lopate, editor, The Art of the Personal Essay John D’Agata, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Announcing a VIEW from the BRIDGE
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, PLEASE “One of the most powerful productions of a Miller play I have ever seen. By the end you feel both emotionally drained and unexpectedly elated — the classic hallmark of a great production.” - The Daily Telegraph “To say visionary director Ivo van Hove’s production is the best show in the West End is like saying Stonehenge is the current best rock arrangement in Wiltshire; it almost feels silly to compare this pure, primal, colossal thing with anything else on the West End. A guileless granite pillar of muscle and instinct, Mark Strong’s stupendous Eddie is a force of nature.” - Time Out “Intense and adventurous. One of the great theatrical productions of the decade.” -The London Times DIRECT FROM TWO SOLD-OUT ENGAGEMENTS IN LONDON YOUNG VIC’S OLIVIER AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTION OF ARTHUR MILLER’S “A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE” Directed by IVO VAN HOVE STARRING MARK STRONG, NICOLA WALKER, PHOEBE FOX, EMUN ELLIOTT, MICHAEL GOULD IS COMING TO BROADWAY THIS FALL PREVIEWS BEGIN WEDNESDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 21 OPENING NIGHT IS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12 AT THE LYCEUM THEATRE Direct from two completely sold-out engagements in London, producers Scott Rudin and Lincoln Center Theater will bring the Young Vic’s critically-acclaimed production of Arthur Miller’s A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE to Broadway this fall. The production, which swept the 2015 Olivier Awards — winning for Best Revival, Best Director, and Best Actor (Mark Strong) —will begin previews Wednesday evening, October 21 and open on Thursday, November 12 at the Lyceum Theatre, 149 West 45 Street.
    [Show full text]
  • The PEN International Stage & Screen Circle
    ‘PEN International has traditionally been a place where great artists of stage and screen -Thornton Wilder, Maurice Maeterlinck, Arthur Miller, Ronald Harwood, Octavio Paz and Harold Pinter- have fought for freedom of expression the world over. Today, as even a mobile phone can be a movie camera, we are able to bear witness to human rights violations as never before. In these times, more than ever, PEN defends playwrights, screenwriters and filmmakers who are censored, silenced and jailed’ – JENNIFER CLEMENT, PEN INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT ‘I consider freedom of expression the most important cause that PEN supports. Without freedom of expression we are lost’ – RONALD HARWOOD, PEN INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT EMERITUS ‘My respect for this organisation has no borders…PEN has been so fierce, so consistent and ferocious in its efforts that it is hard to ignore their worldwide impact.’ The PEN – TONI MORRISON, PEN INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT International For more information contact [email protected] Stage & Screen Cover image: PEN International President Emeritus Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe arrive in London for the premier of film The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier. Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images. PEN International is a registered UK charity under the name International P. E. N. Circle Our charity number is 1117088. Who Stage and We Are Screen Circle Although PEN’s membership has always included advocates from the stage and PEN International and the stage and screen worlds have been interwined for almost screen, we are also increasingly fighting for the freedom of playwrights, directors and one hundered years. One of PEN’s founding members, along with H.G Wells, was screenwriters: George Bernard Shaw.
    [Show full text]
  • List of Works by Margaret Atwood
    LIST OF WORKS BY MARGARET ATWOOD Note: This bibliography lists Atwood’s novels, short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction books. It is current as of 2019. Dates in parentheses re- fer to the initial date of publication; when there is variance across countries, the date refers to the Canadian publication. We have used standard abbreviations for Atwood’s works across the essays; how- ever, contributors have used a range of editions (Canadian, American, British, etc.), reflecting the wide circulation of Atwood’s writing. For details on the specific editions consulted by contributors, please see the bibliography immediately following each essay. For a complete bibliography of Atwood’s works, including small press editions, children’s books, scripts, and edited volumes, see http://mar- garetatwood.ca/full-bibliography-2/ Novels EW The Edible Woman (1969) Surf. Surfacing (1972) LO Lady Oracle (1976) LBM Life Before Man (1979) BH Bodily Harm (1981) HT The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) CE Cat’s Eye (1988) RB The Robber Bride (1993) AG Alias Grace (1996) BA The Blind Assassin (2000) O&C Oryx and Crake (2003) P The Penelopiad (2005) YF Year of the Flood (2009) MA MaddAddam (2013) HGL The Heart Goes Last (2015) HS Hag-Seed (2016) Test. The Testaments (2019) ix x THE BIBLE AND MARGARET ATWOOD Short Fiction DG Dancing Girls (1977) MD Murder in the Dark (1983) BE Bluebeard’s Egg (1983) WT Wilderness Tips (1991) GB Good Bones (1992) GBSM Good Bones and Simple Murders (1994) Tent The Tent (2006) MD Moral Disorder (2006) SM Stone Mattress (2014) Poetry CG The Circle
    [Show full text]
  • Two Tendencies Beyond Realism in Arthur Miller's Dramatic Works
    Inês Evangelista Marques 2º Ciclo de Estudos em Estudos Anglo-Americanos, variante de Literaturas e Culturas The Intimate and the Epic: Two Tendencies beyond Realism in Arthur Miller’s Dramatic Works A critical study of Death of a Salesman, A View from the Bridge, After the Fall and The American Clock 2013 Orientador: Professor Doutor Rui Carvalho Homem Coorientador: Professor Doutor Carlos Azevedo Classificação: Ciclo de estudos: Dissertação/relatório/Projeto/IPP: Versão definitiva 2 Abstract Almost 65 years after the successful Broadway run of Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller is still deemed one of the most consistent and influential playwrights of the American dramatic canon. Even if his later plays proved less popular than the early classics, Miller’s dramatic output has received regular critical attention, while his long and eventful life keeps arousing the biographers’ curiosity. However, most of the academic works on Miller’s dramatic texts are much too anchored on a thematic perspective: they study the plays as deconstructions of the American Dream, as a rebuke of McCarthyism or any kind of political persecution, as reflections on the concepts of collective guilt and denial in relation to traumatizing events, such as the Great Depression or the Holocaust. Especially within the Anglo-American critical tradition, Miller’s plays are rarely studied as dramatic objects whose performative nature implies a certain range of formal specificities. Neither are they seen as part of the 20th century dramatic and theatrical attempts to overcome the canons of Realism. In this dissertation, I intend, first of all, to frame Miller’s dramatic output within the American dramatic tradition.
    [Show full text]
  • Susan Sontag's Dying in Photography and Prose
    humanities Article Temporality and the Carer’s Experience in the Narrative Ecology of Illness: Susan Sontag’s Dying in Photography and Prose Yianna Liatsos School of English, Irish, and Communication, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, Ireland; [email protected] Received: 24 June 2020; Accepted: 11 August 2020; Published: 16 August 2020 Abstract: This paper joins a discussion about the representational dissonance and commemorative ethics of two self-referential works that engage with Susan Sontag’s 2004 death from Myelodysplastic Syndrome: Annie Leibovitz’s A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005 (2006) and David Rieff’s Swimming in a Sea of Death: A Son’s Memoir (2008). Instead of approaching these two texts as testimonial accounts measured by standards of reliability and grace, this paper considers how the temporal dissonance produced by an incurable cancer diagnosis thwarts questions of personhood and ethical intention in Leibovitz’s photography and Rieff ’s prose. By contextualizing these works as the caregivers’ experience of Sontag’s illness, this paper reads them as attempts at gauging two distinct temporal perspectives that confound identification—those of living through and of remembering terminal time. Keywords: illness memoir; illness photography; cancer; prognosis; temporality Susan Sontag’s 2004 death from Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) is routinely addressed in publications on Sontag’s oeuvre and the Medical Humanities at large, mostly through reference to two texts: Annie Leibovitz’s A Photographer’s Life 1990–2005 (2006),
    [Show full text]