When reading Margaret Atwood’s works, one could easily feel disturbed by her presentation of certain male characters.
After discussing Atwood’s feminism and summing up Atwood’s views on male characters, this essay will look at male characters in her works. It will show that her feminism is not critical of men in general, but only intends to subvert a certain kind of masculinity.
In" Power Politics" and "Bodily Harm", Atwood displays a heavy pessimism because she considers men as mere agents of oppression and violence. And yet, Atwood’s presentation of male characters seems to have evolved over time and moved to a broader spectrum, especially in her more recent works.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Is Margaret Atwood a feminist?
2.1 – Does Atwood see herself as a feminist?
2.2 Atwood’s view on male characters in her works
3 Physical abuse and female victimisation
3.1 Power Politics: a dark and chilling vision of men
3.2 Bodily Harm: A violent male society
3.3 The Handmaid’s Tale: gender hierarchy and sexual oppression
4 Atwood’s short stories: a diversity of male characters
4.1 Atwood’s insight into the victimizer-victim relation
4.2 Men entangled in complex relationships.
4.3 A new generation of men
4.4 Male characters between torments and confusion
4.5 Truly good men
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This essay explores the evolution of male character representation in Margaret Atwood’s literary works, specifically challenging the notion that her writing is inherently misandrist. By analyzing both her poetry and prose, the paper argues that Atwood’s feminist perspective does not aim to condemn men generally, but rather to critically deconstruct specific forms of toxic masculinity and patriarchal power structures.
- Evolution of male characters from "oppressors" to complex, realistic individuals.
- The intersection of power, physical abuse, and female victimization.
- Atwood’s nuanced perspective on gender hierarchy and male psychology.
- The shift in portrayal from early pessimistic poetry to diverse short story characterizations.
- Subversion of traditional "victimizer-victim" gender patterns.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Power Politics: a dark and chilling vision of men
Some poems in Power Politics, Margaret Atwood’s poetry collection, can be seen as male victimisation of women. The prefacing poem, “You fit to me”, offers a dark and chilling vision of a man and his relationship with the persona: “you fit to me / like a hook in an eye / a fish hook/ an open eye" (1-4).The metallic fish hook suggests violence and cruelty if one thinks of the pain a fish hook in the eye would cause. In that case violence is literal. Even though one does not feel compelled as a reader to take the meaning of these words at face value, one cannot avoid interpreting them at a literal level. Interestingly enough, Sherrill Grace offers a different interpretation of this poem and suggests that:“[t]he juxtaposition of brutal hook and utter vulnerability in the open eye emphasizes the familiar Atwood point of view that we must learn to see properly” (Grace 1908, 56).
Violence reappears further in “My beautiful wooden leader”: “you hold me by the left ankle / so that my head brushes the ground” (13-14). As in Bodily Harm, the suffering results from the power men want to exert on women as Atwood expresses in “You did it”: “You attempt merely power/ you accomplish merely suffering” (18-19).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of the critical debate regarding Atwood's portrayal of men and outlines the essay's intent to examine her evolving perspective on masculinity.
2 Is Margaret Atwood a feminist?: Examines Atwood’s personal reservations about being labeled a feminist and analyzes how her focus on female experience informs her narrative perspective.
3 Physical abuse and female victimisation: Investigates the depiction of male-perpetrated violence and power dynamics in early, more pessimistic works like Power Politics, Bodily Harm, and The Handmaid's Tale.
4 Atwood’s short stories: a diversity of male characters: Explores the more balanced and varied portrayal of men in Atwood’s short fiction, highlighting themes of complex relationships and individual psychology.
5 Conclusion: Summarizes the finding that Atwood’s work has evolved toward a more nuanced depiction of men, shifting away from portraying them merely as agents of oppression.
Keywords
Margaret Atwood, Feminism, Male Characters, Patriarchy, Victimization, Power Politics, Bodily Harm, The Handmaid’s Tale, Gender Relations, Masculinity, Short Stories, Literary Criticism, Oppression, Victim-Victimizer Relation, Narrative Perspective.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary subject of this academic essay?
The essay focuses on how Margaret Atwood characterizes men in her literary works and whether her writing can be classified as strictly anti-male or feminist.
What are the core thematic areas explored in the text?
The text examines the themes of gender-based violence, the power dynamics between partners, the evolution of male character traits, and the socio-political context of the characters' relationships.
What is the central research question?
The paper asks whether Atwood’s feminism is fundamentally critical of men as a whole, or if it primarily seeks to critique and subvert specific, oppressive forms of masculinity.
Which academic methods are employed in this analysis?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis, evaluating various texts—including poetry, novels, and short stories—against the secondary commentary of literary critics like Frank Davey and Sherrill Grace.
What content is covered in the main body of the paper?
The main body moves from an investigation into Atwood's own stance on feminism to an analysis of specific works, categorized by the degree of pessimism and complexity in the depiction of male characters.
Which keywords best describe this research?
The work is defined by terms such as feminism, male characters, gender relations, power dynamics, and the literary evolution of Margaret Atwood.
How does the author interpret the character of "the Commander" in The Handmaid’s Tale?
The author suggests that the Commander is a nuanced figure whose power is often deconstructed through the protagonist's observations, portraying him as a figure defined by his role in a rigid, oppressive regime rather than purely by individual malice.
How does Atwood use the short stories to refine her view on men compared to her earlier novels?
The short stories allow for a broader spectrum of male identities, moving beyond the "villainous" archetypes found in earlier poetry and novels to include men who are confused, well-behaved, or struggling with their own inner conflicts.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Jean Delteil (Autor:in), 2021, Male Characters in Margaret Atwood’s Writings. A Discussion, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1118795
