A Journey From Object To Subject: Dissolving Into Selfhood

As a versatile and prolific Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood received numerous awards and several honorary degrees. As an expert in poetry, novels, short stories and literary reviews, she enjoyed worldwide popularity for her glorious contribution to English literature and was honored as "the queen of Canadian literature". Through scrutinizing her works, it is not difficult to find that she mainly focuses on three distinct, though related, literary domains:feminism, Canadian nationalism, and postmodernism. As for feminism, readers can discover that almost all protagonists in Atwood's works are women. Her experience in a market research company in the 1960s had more firmed Atwood's resolve of feminism. As a young female employee in that company, Atwood discovered an intangible block which is now called the "glass ceiling". Therefore, Atwood decided to use her pen to express her resistance against the discriminations, and she did it. This thesis proposes to apply feminism and anti-consumerism to analyzing The Edible Woman with a view to interrogating the journey from object to subject of the female protagonist Marian. It aims to expose males'suppression of females and females' pursuit of self-worth and subjectivity at that time. It also aims to provide a new and profound perspective for the studies on this novel of Margaret Atwood and call more public attention to feminist issues and the truth that lies within our society.This thesis will be divided into five chapters:three chapters preceded by an introduction and followed by a conclusion. Chapter one gives a brief introduction to feminism and anti-consumerism. This chapter sketchily analyzes the relationship between Margaret Atwood and feminism and anti-consumerism and investigates traces and structures of feminism and anti-consumerism as implied in The Edible Woman. As a Canadian writer, Atwood helps us to recognize Canada by her works and shows us the lives of women in Canada and their destiny to become the objects of men. Chapter two focuses on the analysis of the commercialization of Marian as object:a sexual object and adornment of Peter and a commodity to be consumed in the society. Chapter three focuses on the rebirth of Marian as subject. Marian's two escapes from Peter indicate that she is beginning to resist her role as a sexual object. Her eating disorder and simultaneous imaginations of her body dissolving suggest her rebellion against her femininity. Duncan's appearance accelerates Marian's dissolving into selfhood.