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The Female Bildungsroman and Quest Motifs in Selected Margaret Atwood Texts

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The Female Bildungsroman and Quest Motifs in Selected Margaret Atwood Texts Making the Journey: The Female Bildungsroman and Quest Motifs in Selected Margaret Atwood Texts By Tracy Elizabeth Webb Pietermaritzburg, 2015 i Declaration Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Graduate Programme in English Studies, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. I, Tracy Elizabeth Webb, declare that 1. The research reported in this dissertation, except where otherwise indicated, is my original research. 2. This dissertation has not been submitted for any degree or examination at any other university. 3. This dissertation does not contain other persons’ data, pictures, graphs or other information, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other persons. 4. This dissertation does not contain other persons’ writing, unless specifically acknowledged as being sourced from other researchers. Where other written sources have been quoted, then: a. Their words have been re-written but the general information attributed to them has been referenced. b. Where their exact words have been used, then their writing has been placed in italics and inside quotation marks, and referenced. 5. This dissertation does not contain text, graphics or tables copied and pasted from the Internet, unless specifically acknowledged, and the source being detailed in the dissertation and in the References sections. _____________ Student Name _______________ Signature _____________ Date i _______________ Name of Supervisor _______________ Signature ii Acknowledgements This project would not have been possible without the support of several people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Cheryl Stobie, for her incredible support and encouragement. Your patience, suggestions and expertise have been invaluable – thank you for everything. I would also like to thank the English Studies department and larger University of KwaZulu-Natal community for its financial support. Thank you to my mother, father and sister. Thank you for putting up with me through this process and for always taking an interest in my work. I appreciate your support and encouragement and I love you all very much. iii Abstract The research presented in this dissertation examines, from a gender studies approach, the genre of the female Bildungsroman and the representation of quest motifs in three primary texts selected from the oeuvre of Margaret Atwood. These three texts include: The Penelopiad (2005), Surfacing (1972) and Cat’s Eye (1988). Given that the Bildungsroman is traditionally championed by a male protagonist as well as the varied nature of this quest, which is also led by a male hero, this project investigates texts which highlight the nature of the female protagonist’s experience and the variation in her Bildung and quest as a result. In order to provide a thorough analysis of these texts an extensive theoretical approach of gender theory, Bildungsroman theory, and quest theory has been used. This promotes a focus on the construction of gender in the texts, the traditional structure of the Bildungsroman and how the selected texts conform to but also deviate from this model, as well as illustrating how variations of Joseph Campbell’s mythic structure have been included in the texts. The Penelopiad offers a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey epic from the point of view of a female narrator, Penelope. In this text several narrative techniques are used to ‘rewrite’ the original myth and privilege the female perspective. Surfacing provides an account of a spiritual quest; this text couples the protagonist’s Bildung and search for identity with spirituality. Cat’s Eye represents an example of a psychological quest as the protagonist’s journey is closely connected to her memories of the past and the experiences to which they are linked. The variations within these texts contribute to a comprehensive analysis of the complex nature of this study and this genre as a whole. These texts provide different examples of Bildungsromane and representations of the quest. This examination explores the extent to which Atwood makes use of the traditional Bildungsroman structure, and also the ways in which she is able to skilfully manipulate the genre and provide texts that more accurately constitute a female Bildungsroman. iv Table of Contents Declaration i Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv Table of Contents v Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: ‘Weaving and Unweaving’: Narrative Tools and 35 Feminist Myth in Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad Chapter Three: ‘Boundaries and Baptisms’: Gender, Belonging 59 and Representations of the Spiritual Quest in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing Chapter Four: ‘Sisters, Sacraments and Self-Portraits’: Social Issues, 79 Art, Memory and the Psychological Quest in Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye Chapter Five: Conclusion 108 References 117 v CHAPTER ONE Introduction The ideas of searching for a lost object, endeavouring to resolve a sense that something is missing in one’s life, and the possibility of restoration are themes that are present in almost all forms of literature, albeit in different contexts and manifested in different ways. However, these ideas are particularly pertinent when looking at the quest narrative or the Bildungsroman. Both genres, with the idea of the journey and resulting growth at its centre, represent archetypal human concerns. Yet both these literary genres are born out of and are dominated by a male tradition. Over the changing landscape of literature, influenced by the Women’s Movement and feminism, a journey narrative has emerged with women at its centre that can be considered a female Bildungsroman. This project aims to investigate the nature of these texts, how they represent distinctively female examples of Bildungsromane, and the shades of quest motifs that are evident in the texts. The texts that have been selected, from the oeuvre of renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood, are The Penelopiad (2005), Surfacing (1972) and Cat’s Eye (1988). Of these three Margaret Atwood’s texts which I have chosen to examine in this dissertation, each will be explored in its own chapter. Before I outline the structure of each investigation and chapter I should explain the reasons that I have chosen to order my analysis in such a way, as it does not follow a chronological ordering of Atwood’s work. I have chosen to order the texts in a manner designed to display the clearest link to the theoretical framework and conceptual outline. I begin with The Penelopiad as this text offers a retelling of Homer’s classical poem The Odyssey, but from the viewpoint of a female protagonist, Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. This text illustrates the closest link to a male quest myth, and thus represents the ultimate female appropriation of the mythic structure and the idea of a female journey. Surfacing is the second text because this also includes a physical journey to a new space, in that the protagonist journeys away from the city to a secluded island in Northern Canada to memories of her childhood. However, this journey is augmented with a spiritual aspect which enhances the idea of the quest and female Bildungsroman. Cat’s Eye is the final text, as this represents less of a physical journey to an unfamiliar space 1 (although some movement is required on the part of the protagonist). Yet this text details more of a journey into the past, memory and the subconscious, and thus represents a kind of psychological quest. Thus, the organisation of the primary texts in such a way is less to do with tracking the chronological progression of Atwood’s work but rather the thematic development and progression of the journey, Bildungsroman, and quest narrative in these texts. Each of these texts provides a rich landscape for investigation, and thus in addition to my analysis of the female Bildungsroman and quest motifs in each of the texts there are other issues which will be explored. For example, the chapter on The Penelopiad will examine the feminist re-appropriation of well established narratives such as Homer’s Odyssey and will also explore The Penelopiad’s relationship to the original Odyssey poem. A study of the female characters will be conducted, as will the idea of Penelope’s retrospective viewpoint and the chorus of the maids. This text represents that female appropriation of myth, and thus an investigation of the quest structure, its deviations and their significance is necessary. Surfacing and Cat’s Eye, much like the female Bildungsroman, are far more subtle feminist texts, unlike Penelope’s overt appropriation of the male narrative. Surfacing follows the journey of an unnamed female protagonist away from her life in the city to her remote home in northern Canada to search for her father, who is missing and presumed dead. This text offers an opportunity for investigation of a spiritual rather than purely social quest. It also explores issues of post-coloniality, ecological perspectives and victimhood which enhance the investigation of the female Bildungsroman in this text. The final novel to be discussed, Cat’s Eye, focuses on the life of artist Elaine Risley. This text offers a retrospective journey into Elaine’s memories, exploring the influence of her three childhood friends, the representation of women, social issues, and the role of art, which offers opportunity to explore a derivative of the Bildungsroman, the Künstlerroman. By exploring these different aspects of each of the texts, as well as the main focus of the female Bildungsroman and quest motifs, I will offer a comprehensive perspective on the genre. I will conduct this research using a textual analysis methodology, utilising Catherine Belsey’s “Textual Analysis as a Research Method” (2005) as a guide. Belsey’s 2 approach to interpreting and exploring texts is a subtle one. In her opinion it is crucial to outline the details of a text and the significance of these details. This involves closely engaging with the individual works and interrogating the multiplicity of meanings that they offer in the most empirical and objective way possible.
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