Margaret Atwood is one of the most recognized authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Born in Ontario, Canada in 1939, Atwood grew up on a steady diet of comic books, Canadian folk stories, fairy tales, and mystery novels. These various genres would later influence her novels, short stories, and other works. Atwood’s stories commonly include themes of gender dynamics, identity, abuse of power, and the power of language. The most common overarching theme throughout Atwood’s works however, is the theme of survival. In 1972, Atwood published Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature. Survival argues that the “central image” to Canadian literature is a backdrop of survival, and the central character acting as the victim. Atwood goes on to explain the four types of “victims”: A character that denies they are a victim, a character that accepts that they are a victim, but credits their victimhood to a force beyond their control, a character that accepts that they are a victim, but rejects the idea that their victimhood is inevitable, and a character who is an “ex-victim”, for whom all things are possible (Atwood). The theme of survival and the character of the victim can be seen in various iterations throughout Atwood’s body of works. Three examples of the Atwood’s use of the ideas of survival and victim are The Handmaid’s Tale, “Rape Fantasies”, and The Penelopiad. Through her writing, Margaret Atwood reveals a theme of the complexity of survival, by writing characters whose strengths lie in their will to survive, and whose weaknesses are attributes of their experience as a victim in their story.
In The Handmaid’s Tale, “Rape Fantasies”, and The Penelopiad, the backdrop of the story is a oppressive and patriarchal society. Atwood uses these stifling societies in order to convey to the reader the motivation for her characters to exhibit traits of “survival mode”. In The Handmaid’s Tale, Offred and all other women living under the Republic of Gilead are stripped of their identities and of their sexual, intellectual, and psychological freedom. As a Handmaid, Offred is not permitted to read or write, or to go out alone. Her role is to assist in reproduction for the powerful elite, meaning that her value in this society lies not in her intelligence or her skills, but solely in her biological function. The only escape from subjugation in Gilead is suicide, as rebels are sent to work in nuclear wastelands or forced to become prostitutes, known as Jezebels. In “Rape Fantasies”, the main character Estelle describes to the reader the ubiquity of rape and subsequently, rape culture, in society. The media seems to glamorize what is a serious and traumatic event, making it difficult to avoid and confusing to understand. When Estelle questions the idea of rape fantasies, she is “looked at like [she] was in bad taste…” (Atwood). Estelle’s coworkers discuss their own “rape fantasies”, and Estelle herself grapples with the romanticized idea and the grim reality. The Penelopiad is a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey, from the perspective of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope. When Odysseus is rumored to have died, suitors immediately appear in Ithaca in pursuit of Penelope’s hand in marriage. The suitors are not interested in Penelope as a person, but rather as a pathway to power. In order to preserve the throne for herself and her son, Penelope devises a plan with her maids to keep the suitors at bay. When Odysseus returns, he believes that they maids are conspiring with the suitors and has them hanged. Rather than intervene, Penelope is forced to stay silent, as speaking up would associate her with what the king believes to be traitors. Offred, Estelle, and Penelope are objectified and stifled by the societies they live in. Although the stakes are different for each character, they are silenced and unable to rebel. In all three of these stories, the protagonists are faced with a society that objectifies and suppresses them, to the point that their only option is to survive.
The strength of Atwood’s characters lies in their will to survive. The women in Atwood’s narratives are placed in harrowing, oppressive societies. The choices that they make are not always the best for every character, but they are what is necessary for the character to survive. The women in The Handmaid’s Tale are stripped of their identity, their thoughts and beliefs are censored, and the only value that they have lies in their biological function. However, the women still find small ways to cling to their true identities amid the Republic’s attempts to erase them. Offred describes covering her face with butter, a ritual that she and the other Handmaids perform, saying that, “As long as we….butter our skin to keep it soft, we can believe that we will someday get out, that we will be touched again…” (Atwood). The Handmaid’s use of butter as lotion is a small way to reclaim their bodies and minds. Although the action itself is small, it is a strong reminder of the freedom they once had, and as Offred says, may be able to have again eventually. Several times throughout the story Offred makes other small efforts to reclaim her old identity. In an article for The Atlantic, Eden Lepucki explains that “In a society where intellectual engagement is prohibited, Offred’s persistent curiosity is powerful and dangerous” (Lepucki). Offred’s strength lies in her ability to contain her desire for freedom, while still finding the smallest opportunities to reclaim her identity in a world where expressing it would get her killed. In The Penelopiad, Penelope uses her loom, a symbol of femininity and domesticity, to protect herself and her kingdom from her suitors. Fearing that violence would ensue should she refuse them, Penelope tells the suitors that she will choose one to marry after she finishes a funeral shroud for her father-in-law. Every night, she enlists the help of her maids to unravel the shroud in order to put off the suitors. Atwood herself described in an interview that "There are two ways of fending things off if you don't want them to happen…one is by force – which is not available to [Penelope]. The other is by guile. So she has to use guile….When in doubt, lie – but lie well" (Atwood). As stated earlier, Penelope does not have the option to force the suitors out, so she uses the suitor’s belief that she is a feeble-minded woman to protect herself. Her desire to survive and stay true to her husband gives her the strength to resist the suitors at whatever cost, without making herself vulnerable to violence. In “Rape Fantasies”, Estelle and her coworkers are confronted by the subject of rape, in magazines, on television, seemingly everywhere. When Estelle’s coworkers are discussing their own rape fantasies, Estelle is initially taken aback. Later, Estelle reveals that she also has rape fantasies of her own, although hers don’t end in rape. The women’s rape fantasies are their way of taking back a narrative that has made them out to be helpless victims, and their way of coping with a society that perpetuates and tolerates rape culture.
The weaknesses of Atwood’s characters lies in their positions as victims. The way that they view their victimhood contributes not only to the choices that they make, but to the way that they view the world. Offred’s weakness, for example, is her inability to speak up in the same way as Moira or Ofglen. Offred’s biggest character flaw is her “fatalistic passivity” (Dopp). Throughout the story, Offred does not outwardly reject the Republic’s laws for fear of punishment. Although Offred does not want to be a victim, she fits the mold of Atwood’s Position One victim. In Survival, Atwood defines a Position One victim as a character that “acknowledge[s] the fact that [they] are a victim, but…explain[s] this as an act of Fate, the Will of God, the dictates of Biology, the necessity decreed by History, or Economics, or the Unconscious, or any other large general powerful idea” (Atwood). Offred acknowledges her own victimhood, but struggles to break free from it because she is at the mercy of Gilead’s fundamentalist government. Penelope’s weakness is ultimately her own selfishness. Although Penelope knows that the maids have been wrongfully killed, she chooses not to step in, for fear that she too will be accused of treason and conspiracy. Penelope choosing to save herself over others could classify her as a Position Three victim. Atwood describes a Position Three victim as a character that “acknowledge[s] the fact that [they] are a victim but to refuse[s] to accept the assumption that the role is inevitable” (Atwood). Because Penelope understands that defending the maids would end in her also being killed, she is acknowledging her victimhood. By allowing the maids to be executed in order to save her own life, she is refusing to accept the same fate for herself. In “Rape Fantasies”, although the women are reclaiming the narrative to some degree by constructing these rape fantasies, they are also perpetuating the idea that women ask to be, or secretly want to be raped. Their willful ignorance classifies them as Position One victims. A Position One victim is described as a character that “den[ies] that fact that [they] are a victim” (Atwood). The women do not allow themselves to think critically about the rape fantasies they’ve constructed, rather, they reject Estelle when she tries to point out the reality of sexual assault.
Literary critics have praised Atwood’s work for its realism and its timelessness, one critic describing The Handmaid’s Tale as “[not] just a [story] about now; it's a [story] about always” (Saad). Atwood’s stories reflect our own society, forcing us to reflect on our own choices. Her characters do the same. They force us to confront our own strengths and weaknesses, traits that we have developed in our own times of survival. Their weaknesses, whether they be passivity, selfishness, or willful ignorance, are what makes survival complex in Atwood’s eyes. Atwood’s stories show that survival is not always heroic or just, but messy and often morally ambiguous. The characters in Atwood’s stories have the strength to reclaim power and to reclaim parts of themselves, but may take away power from others. Offred survives the Republic's grasp, but leaves behind other Handmaids as she does. Penelope saves her own life, but sacrifices those of her maids. Estelle’s coworkers may use rape fantasies to cope with their own fears, but ultimately, they perpetuate a harmful idea. Atwood’s characters reflect the best and worst parts of us. Her characters are selfish but clever, afraid but courageous, struggling but coping. What makes them strong and what makes them weak is what makes them real.