The External World in the Novels of Margaret Atwood

The External World in the Novels ofMargaret Atwood LEILA G. MITCHELL Margaret Atwood's novels have precipitated much critical debate in recent years, most of it thematic in orientation. The texture of her fiction is perhaps better appreciated, however, when her specific skills as a literary craftswoman are examined. One such technical skill is her ability to recreate in her novels her vision of the external world. The physical accoutrements of her characters, d_etail about particular locales· and urban and rural landscapes perform a crucial function in her fiction. It is this dimension of Atwood's work which is the focus of the following analysis. In all her novels Atwood uses such externalities as clothing and appearance to define characters who in many cases are underdeveloped psychologically, functioning only in ways which expand the themes of her novels. They thus become recognizable 'types' whose choices and actions are circumscribed by the perimeters of their stereotypical conception. For example, in Atwood's first novel, The Edible Woman, Marian and Ainsley are introduced in terms of their clothing: I suspect she's [the landlady] decided Ainsley isn't respectable, whereas I am. It's probably the way we dress: Ainsley says I choose clothes as though they're a camouflage or a protective coloration, though I can't see anything wrong with that. She herself goes in for neon pink.I The world which Marian would be entering as Peter's wife is emphasized by the gaudy, exaggerated outfit she wears to the climactic dinner party at the end of the novel. Similarly, Marian realizes that Ainsley is seriously trying to ensnare Len when she appears in her little-girl outfit of pink and blue at the Park Plaza. The office virgins are also caricatured in terms of their appearance: Emmy always looks as though she is Journal ofCanadian Studies Vol. 15, No. I (Printemps 1980 Spring) coming unravelled. Stray threads trail from her hems, her lipstick sloughs off in dry scales, she sheds wispy blonde hairs and flakes of scalp on her shoulders and back; everywhere she goes she leaves a trail of assorted threads. [EW, 22] Lucy carries on a running battle with the waitress in the restaurant where the girls have their coffee break. This waitress "wears Woolworth earrings and a sullen scowl and is blatantly not an office virgin" (EW, 23). Here then are two very different characters whose appearance provides a 'short-hand' clue to their personalities. Peter wears clothes that emphasize the "functional spareness of his body" and his accessories always match (EW, 146). Marian, however, decides that she finds that quality quite attractive: He knew how to blend in and stand out at the same time. Some men could never wear dark suits properly, they got flakey on the shoulders and shiny at the b3:ck, but Peter never shed and never shone in the wrong places. [EW, 146) The importance of Peter's clothes as mirrors of his rather conventional and superficial personality is clear when Marian finds she fears and resents Peter's clothes. As they hang in his cupboard Marian reaches out a hand to touch the clothes but withdraws quickly - she fears they might be warm. Duncan's appearance, too, is indicative of his personality and also serves to differentiate him from Peter. When we first meet Duncan he is described as cadaverous, he wears no shirt or shoes only a pair of khaki pants. Duncan's ironing fixation is also important. Duncan stares at the garments he irons as though they were ''ancient and very fragile'' manuscripts. As Marian watches him iron she finds it difficult to restrain herself from trying "to break through the white cloth surface of his absorption'' (EW, 139). Duncan enjoys ironing because he can "straighten things out and get them flat" (EW, 142). While usually used as a kind of short-hand character study, detailed descriptions of clothing and physical appearance can serve other functions. Certain types of clothing are associated with particu45 lar qualities: "It· h~d seemed to her lately that innocence had some imperfectly-defined connection with clothing: the lines were drawn by collars and long sleeves" (EW, 189). Articles of clothing...