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A Study of Margaret Atwood's Novels 3t.6.93 Literary Responses to Bewilderment in Western Society A Study of Margaret Atwood's Novels By Yiyan Wang A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Arts at the English Department of the Universitv of Adelaide February, 1993 A^or.l ed, lqq 3 Textual Emendatione Page Line Amendment Ack.l 4 For their reød them Ack.2 I For Briseerrdon reød Brissenden For Meyer reød Maree For RusËel reørl Russell 9 For Shellick r¿ad Sellick 3 3 For HowFell rmil Howella 6 r3 For crisis ræd crisee I 18 For caugeo r¿ad cause 1ó 5 For fo read for 20 25 For Feminist approadr rwd L feminÍst aP¡rroach 25 27 For into resd in 26 1 For remaining ranrl wlúch remains z8 For being reù is 27 ?ß For in thepromlsereaÅ on the promises ?ß t7 Delele representing 29 3 For By all means r¿ad In sver)r reopect 30 27 Ëor self-boundary reøil *ll-boundaries 31 75 For at the expenies ofrend at the expense of 34 18 For at the expcnees of rud at the expense of 4r 1 For ¡to rread not 12 For to read of 't6 For on reød Ín terrru of 45 I Dclete the case of 53 t8 For LatecapÍtalism reød late.capitalism F4 s For Þe carried rmd cçme about 6 Far againslrmd Ín termr of 57 6 For indulgence of rd but to indulge their 13 For cloth coloure rand cçtoured clothing 59 2 For ceremoniour reøl ritual 3 For an act of political requiremmt for general Handmaide rewl an åct where the Handmaíds' attendance is pol.iticaþ requircd t+ For pooled reú arreçted 14 For Colony reød, colonies 23 For in the margin read on the margin 60 r9 For pooledræd drrectcd 2t Fot an executive of certaÍn statc Pfi^rer r¿ad wlw holds a high executlve posltion in the staþ 27 For by its mlniaturc reßd inn miniature 61 4 For gender confirontation rend polarisatíon 2I) Delele het 63 19 Delefie at il :v{ For adapt rcad to adapt DECLARATION This work contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference had been made in the text. I give consent to this copy of my thesis, when deposited in the University Library, being available for photcopying and loan. SIGNED: DATE: à).V. 13 I ACKNOWLEDGEMENT There are so many people who have helped me with the completion of this thesis that I am afraid this acknowledgement is unlikelt' to do their justice. Above all my deepest thanks goes to my major supervisor, Rosemary Moore. This thesis would have been impossible without her consistent and professional help throughout the years. The supervision of my study has been very difficult and demandinB, as English is my second language, which means my way of thinking and writing could be the most unfamiliar to her. I shalì always remember her most detailed marking of my drafts and the frequent discussions we have had to clarify my ideas. I can never thank her sufficiently for the amount of time and effort she puts into helping me. My special thanks also goes to my other supervisor, Andrew Taylor, whose help to me is the most fundamental. His teaching and explanation enlightened me when I was almost drowned in the darkness of Western literary theory. I must also thank George Turner for his special and valuable support and encouragement in every possible way, particularly his advice in the linguistic aspect concerning my thesis. I feel privileged to have him as a close friend and be able to engage in discussions with him which lead me to a better understanding of the English language. I am aiso deeply indebted to other staff members and my fellow postgraduate students of the English Department for their warmth and friendship, for the tremendous "re-education" I have received from the many inspiring and stimulating conversations with them either at parties or at seminars, or in the corridors of the department, for their patience and effort in answering probably the most impossible questions from another culture and for their help in practically every aspect of my beginning a life in an English-speaking environment. Among them, I lvould like to express my gratitude especially to Cally Guerin, Marie Commnetti, Roben Eaden, Kevin Magarey, Penny Boumelha, Sue Hosking, Alan Brissendon, Tim Meyer, Russel McDougall and Robert Shellick. The excellent collection in English literature of the Barr Smith Library has been a great assistance to my work and I am most grateful of the assistance that extends far beyond the bibliographical boundary from the English Subject Librarian, Liz Lee. My indebtedness also goes to the Canadian High Commision in Canberra for its presentation of Atwood's noveis and other books. I must thank my other close friends whose generous support and encouragement have accompanied me through the last few difficult years. I wish to express my gratitude particularly to Ralph Elliott, Peter Ostergaard, Don ]arrett, Marie and David Fisher. i ì l 1 I t I I t I I i Table of Contents I I Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract 1. Introduction: the Political Self 1 2. The Edibte Person in The Edible Womøn 18 3. The Confined Self ín The Handmøid's Tøle 51 4. The Introspective Self in Cøt's Eye 79 5. Conclusion: the Enduring Self 707 Bibliography 774 I i I { I i 1 ABSTRACT This thesis attempts to apply Fredric ]ameson's theoretic construct of the political unconscious in a discussion of Atwood's novels, particularly her characterisation in The Edible Womøn, The Høndmøid's Tale and The Cat's Eye Jameson's concept of social reification, a central concept to his theoretical construction, refers to the process in which social structure entirely alienates human individuals and the modes of experiencing life for individuals. Jameson advocates a linkage of Marxism and psychoanalysis, since he considers individual subjects as alienated by the social system and governed by psychological laws at the same time. The core of ]ameson's understanding of modern subjectivity is that social alienation is internalised and is shown through psychological disturbances. Society thus becomes the ultimate source of the individual's anxiety. Atwood's characterisation interestingly reflects Jameson's stance. Her protagonists are characterised with the bewilderment, frustration and depression, which prevail in the contemporary West. Indeed they are the profoundly disturbed subjects as their inner world directty corresponds with social reification. Introduction: the Self Political Up to 7997, along with her poetry, short stories and literary criticism, Margaret Atwood has published seven novels. They are The Edibte Woman (7969); Surt'acing (1972); Lady Oracle (7975); Lit'e Before Man (1979); Bodily Harm (1981); The Høndmaid's Tale (1985) and her latest novel to date Cat's Eye (7989). This thesis undertakes a study of three of Margaret Atwood's novels, namely, The Edible Wlman, The Handmaid's Tale and. Cøt's Eye, although there are brief references to her other novels. In brief, I wish to discuss her major characters as individuals subjected to social reification while governed by psychological rules. Their demonstration of psychological symptoms reveals the internalised social reification. Atwood's works attract both scholarly attention and popular interest all over the world. Approaches to Atwood's works vary extensively but criticism, generally speaking, concentrates mainly on three issues: Canadian nationalism, feminism and the Gothic tradition and folklore elements in Atwood's works. The first category of Atwood's critics sees the victim-survival theme as central in Atwood's works. Hence Atwood's most controversial book, Suruiaal: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature, is useful for its argument that Canadian literature reveals survival as both a political and geographical necessity for Canadians. Critics examine the double colonisation suffered by Canadians in respect of their domination by two mother countries as well as by the United States. They associate Canadian nationality r,vith features of the natural landscape. The significant influence of Northrop Frye upon Atwood in this respect is frequently stressed and, is believed to have led to those recurrent metaphorical images in Atwood's works, such as water, snow, ice, forests and coldness. Atwood's attitude tolvards the ambivalence of Canadians in their relations to American imperialism and European colonialism becomes the core of the investigation. However, there are different opinions about Atwood's tendency to simplify the themes of Canadian literature to the point where everything is reduced to a simple scheme -- that of "victim and survivor". Some critics hold that Atwood's works are only partial reflections of the Canadian reality. Feminist approaches consider basically how Atwood's women confront gender issues in family and society. The fact that all Atwood's protagonists are women and have problematic relationships with their partners underpins feminist argument that Atwood's work illustrates women's oppression under patriarchy, viewing their bleak lives as a result of male manipulation since women's fate depends on masculinist assumptions in society at large. Among the issues raised by feminist readers are: the mother and daughter relationship, the demythologising or remythologising of the kinship between women, and the relation of women to the natural world. Especially important is the healing effect of the natural "green" world upon women. The quest for self-knowledge in Atwood's women is seen to originate in an intuitive understanding which links them to nature.
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