Themes in Atwood's Writing

In Margaret Atwood's writing, it's easy to see several noticable themes in many of her works.

The most noticable is the pro-feminism in her stories. The roles women are given are roles normally given to men.
Also, a reoccuring theme is that of sexual  violence. The Handmaiden's Tale and Alias Grace are prime examples of this.
She is known to re-build fairytales and the like to create something entirely new. Such as  Alias Grace, murder and mystery are not new. The way she writes it, though, gives it a spin on the "could have beens".
However, the most noticible is the trait of feminism and the extreme roles given to the women. Grace Marks (whilst based on a true story) is personified by Margaret Atwood, and given a more in-depth role, which expands on Atwood's own belief on feminism.

Influences on Atwood's Writing

 Influences of Atwood's Writing

At the age of 16 when she gave up writing, only then to begin to pursue it again, was the influence of the poet, Edgar Allen Poe.

Prehaps the biggest influence can be said where she was born. She lived in a "woodsy area" in Ottowa area, and didn't attend school full time It could be she wrote in much of her spare time to give her something to do.

The time she grew up in, which was during WWII, gave women a very limited role in many aspects of society, which is completely the opposite in many of her writings, such as in Cat's Eye or Alias Grace. Her women are given roles not expected of them during the time period they appear in. It is also known she supports pro-feminism, and is a huge feminist.

Other Works and Genres

Other notable works by Margaret Atwood

Double Persephone (Toronto, 1961)

The circle game; with illustrations by Charles Pachter (Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1964)

The trumpets of summer: choral suite for mixed chorus, four soloists, male speaker and six instruments; music by John Beckwith and text by Margaret Atwood(1964)

Kaleidoscopes baroque: a poem; with illustrations by Charles Pachter (Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1965)

Talismans for children; with illustrations by Charles Pachter (Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1965)

Expeditions: poems; with lithographs by Charles Pachter (Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1966)

Speeches for Doctor Frankenstein; with illustrations by Charles Pachter (Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1966)

The animals in that country (Toronto, 1968)

The edible woman (Toronto, 1969)

What was in the garden (Santa Barbara, Calif., 1969)

Dreams of the animals(1970)

Procedures for underground (Toronto, 1970)

The journals of Susanna Moodie: poems (Toronto, 1970)

Why they walk out; As essay in seven parts (Rome, 1970)

Power politics (Toronto, 1971)

Surfacing (Toronto, 1972)

Survival: a thematic guide to Canadian literature (Toronto, 1972)

You are happy (Toronto, 1974)

Lady oracle (Toronto, 1976)

Selected poems (Toronto, 1976)

Dancing girls and other stories (Toronto, 1977)

Days of the rebels, 1815/1840 (Toronto, 1977)

A poem for grandmothers ([Missoula, Mont.], 1978)

Two-headed poems (Toronto, 1978)

Up in the tree (Toronto, 1978)

Women on women; edited with an introductory essay by Ann B. Shteir (Toronto, 1978)

Life before man (Toronto, 1979)

Anna's pet, by Margaret Atwood and Joyce Barkhouse; with illustrations by Ann Blades (Toronto, 1980)

Bodily harm (Toronto, 1981)

Notes towards a poem that can never be written (Toronto, 1981)

True stories (Toronto, 1981)

Encounters with the element man; with a wood engraving by Michael McCurdy (Concord, N.H., 1982)

Second words; selected critical prose (Toronto, 1982)

The new Oxford book of Canadian verse in English; selected, with an introduction, by Margaret Atwood (Toronto, 1982)

Bluebeard's egg (Toronto, 1983)

Murder in the dark: short fictions and prose poems (Toronto, 1983)

Snake poems (Toronto, 1983)

Unearthing suite ([Toronto], 1983)

Interlunar (Toronto, 1984)

The handmaid's tale (Toronto, 1985)

[Contribution to] The mission of the university: a symposium in six parts […] (Kingston, Ont., 1985)

[Introduction to] St. Lawrence blues, by Marie-Claire Blais (Toronto, 1985)

Selected poems II: poems selected and new 1976-1986 (Toronto, 1986)

The Oxford book of Canadian short stories in English (Toronto, 1986)

The canlit foodbook; from pen to palate, a collection of tasty literary fare; selected and illustrated by Margaret Atwood (Toronto, 1987)

Cat's eye (Toronto, 1988)

[Foreword to] The dry wells of India […] selected poems entered in the Canadian poetry contest, 1987-88; edited by George Woodcock (Madeira Park, B.C., 1989)

For the birds; with illustrations by John Bianchi, and boxes and sidebars written by Shelley Tanaka (Toronto, 1990)

Margaret Atwood: conversations; edited by Earl G. Ingersoll (Princeton, N.J., 1990)

[Foreword to] Barbed lyres: Canadian venomous verse (Toronto, 1990)

Variations on the word sleep; monotype by Charles Hobson (San Francisco, 1991)

Wilderness tips (New York, 1991)

Good bones (Toronto, 1992)

[Foreword to] Charles Pachter, by Bogomila Welsh-Ovcharov (Toronto, 1992)

The robber bride (Toronto, 1993)

[ed. M. Atwood, with introduction and notes] Poems, by Gwendolyn MacEwen ([Toronto], 1993-94)

Good bones and simple murders (New York, 1994)

Polarities: selected stories; herausgegeben von Reingard M. Nischik (Stuttgart, Germany, 1994)

Bones and murder (London, 1995)

Morning in the burned house (Toronto, 1995)

Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut; with illustrations by Maryann Kovalski (Toronto, 1995)

Strange things: the malevolent north in Canadian literature (Oxford, 1995)

The new Oxford book of Canadian short stories in English; selected by Margaret Atwood and Robert Weaver (Toronto, 1995)

Alias Grace (Toronto, 1996)

Deux sollicitudes; entretiens [between Margaret Atwood and Victor-Levy Beaulieu] (Trois-pistoles, Quebec, 1996)

The labrador fiasco (London, 1996)

In search of Alias Grace; on writing Canadian historical fiction (Ottawa, 1997)

Stories by Margaret Atwood; edited by Alan Purney and with commentary and notes by Miki Kuji (Quarry Bay, Hong Kong, 1997)

The moment (Toronto, 1997)

[Contribution to] A second skin: women write about clothes; ed. Kirsty Dunsneath (London, 1998)

Eating fire; selected poetry, 1965-1995 (London, 1999)

The blind assassin (London, 2000)

Negotiating with the dead: a writer on writing (Cambridge, 2002)

Oryx and crake (Toronto, 2003)

Genres: Children, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Drama, Short Stories

Sources: http://literature.proquestlearning.com/critRef/displayItemById.do?QueryType=reference&forAuthor=2561&BackTo=Author%20Page&ItemID=bib2561%20pqllit_ref_lib

http://literature.britishcouncil.org/margaret-atwood

Alias Margaret

Bad joke

Brief Background on Margaret Atwood

Born Margaret Eleanor Atwood to Carl Edmund and Margaret (Killam) Atwood, in Ottowa, Ontario, 1939.
Even when she was very young, Margaret enjoyed writing poetry, stories, comics and an unfinished story about an ant.

                                                     Margaret and her father in 1942

At a certain point when she was in elementary school, she abandoned the pursuit of becoming an author, but this was rekindled when she was in high school and studied Edgar Allen Poe, and at 16 decided to pursue a writing career.

                                                           Margaret in her late teens


Margaret went on to Victoria College, and while there her first volume of poetry was published called Double Persephone. She later went to attain her masters at Radcliffe College in Massachusetts. After that, she began her full time writing career. Her one book Survival attained much critisim and praise, which eventually caused her to leave the public light, but still continue to write. Her works soon began to include political and sexual abuse themes, and relationships between countries. In addition she has written many critical essays, poems, novels, and much more.

 She is also an advocate for human rights, and pro-feminism.

                                                                Margaret at a rally

Source: http://literature.proquestlearning.com/critRef/displayItemById.do?QueryType=reference&forAuthor=2561&BackTo=Author%20Page&ItemID=bio2561%20pqllit_ref_lib

Alias Grace ~ Reasons for the Choice

Author: Margaret Atwood
Book Title: Alias Grace

What made me interested in the author?
Growing up, hearing the name Margaret Atwood was a rather common occurence. I would often hear people speak of her novels and how well-written they were. One book of hers that I have often heard of that was one of her best and her first would be The Handmaiden's Tale. I guess you could say that since then, (and being an avid reader myself) I always wanted to read something of hers. It sure helped with all the praise I heard about her books, since I am often quite picky about what I read. When I heard she also wrote a non-fiction mystery book on one of the most famous murders in the Richmond area, I knew that I had to do this project on her and Alias Grace.

                                           A younger Margaret Atwood

                                One of the first novels she wrote, it's one of them that got me into her writing.

Wait, where is that?

The setting of the novel, Alias Grace, takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The picture above is how Toronto looked at about the time of Grace's time, in the 1850s'. Since the story of Grace Marks is a true story, it takes place in a real place.

Another place that is important to the story is the Kingston Penitentiary, where Grace was kept in prison.
The building was opened on June 1, 1835, and was built to hold about 500 prisoners. Today it is a national historic sight.

The entrance of the Kingston Penitentary.

All is fair in love and war...?

So far in the novel, Grace, who is now 24, is in prison, and tells the reader the reoccurring dream she has about her past, which is rather confusing since you don't really know what's going on. Grace then says she is a model prisoner, which isn't always easy to be. You then read an exerpt from the Toronto Mirror dated November 23, 1843, and from the Punishment Book of the Kensington Penitentry. The rest is a poem basically summing up what happens for the rest of the novel. After this, it returns to Grace, who currently works at the govenors' home in the penitentry, and talks about the women that come to visit his wife, and then goes on to say that when she reads things about herself in the newspaper, she says they are lies, and not true. Basically, one could say this sets up the background for the story that is going to take place.


To me, some themes that begin for form are that of innocence in terms of, "Did she do it? Or didn't she?" This comes more into question when Grace says that what the newspapers say about her are a lie. Also the themes of fairness as well. Is what happened to Grace fair in terms of her part in the murders? So far, this question can't be answered since I'm not far enough to answer that. Also there is the theme of "love" if you could call it that, or better yet, lust. So far in the poem in the 2nd chapter it talks about Nancy Montgumery and Thomas Kinnear having a relationship, while Grace, who was jealous, and James McDormmat, who liked her also, probably was used for sexual favours in order to kill Thomas and Nancy. I believe the author right away introduces these themes since she wants to captivate the readers attention; since there is obviously more to them then just what's on the surface.


Thus far, my only secondary sources have been the wikipedia, which is rather devoid of any good information save the most basic information.


"Out of the gravel there are peonies growing." Chapter 1, Page 1
This is the first line in the first chapter of the novel. This sentence reminds me that out of something ugly, something good can happen. After all, what's so good looking about dirt? Nothing really, I suppose. Yet the peony can be something very lovely. At a certain point, when I hit rock bottom at my old high school, I didn't think anything good could come out of it.
In Gr. 11, I was friends with this guy, so we'll just call him John Doe. I also had a group of female friends too, and the so-called "leader" was a girl we'll call Jane Doe. John and Jane never really were friends when I met them both. After all, it was because of me they started as friends anyway. Jane became more and more jealous of my friendship with John, so she would do anything to make me feel like dirt. It wasn't long until she completely alienated me from my group of friends, and then I was basically friendless. It was that way for a long time, even after Jane and John began to date. However, I would like to thank Jane. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have learned how to show true compassion and kindness to people. I learned how not to treat people since she treated everyone like they were very simplistic, and made them feel horrible about themselves. So thank you, Jane Doe, because you treated me and everyone else so horribly, you showed me how to be a better person!