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Literary Criticism Canadian

Margaret Atwood's Power

Mirrors, Reflections, and Images in Select Fiction and Poetry

by (author) Shannon Hengen

Publisher
Canadian Scholars' Press Inc.
Initial publish date
Oct 1993
Category
Canadian
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780929005492
    Publish Date
    Oct 1993
    List Price
    $14.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Out of print

This edition is not currently available in bookstores. Check your local library or search for used copies at Abebooks.

Description

In this incisive feminist analysis, Hengen provides a psychoanalytic overview examining Atwood's treatment of women and power. Who has power? Who abuses it? By looking at Atwood's characters, Hengen raises some important issues about her writing. In her novels and poems Atwood's protagonists explore the lives of their mothers and grandmothers in order to reflect on the lives and struggles we confront today. Using the metaphor of narcissism—both progressive and regressive—and the mirror imagery that threads through Atwood's work, Hengen gives a feminist reading to the work of this important Canadian author. Hengen argues that the connections women are able to make between their own lives today and the lives portrayed by Atwood account in part for the writer's wide popularity. An important contribution, Margaret Atwood's Power is a thought-provoking evaluation which provides new insights into Margaret Atwood's work and popularity.

About the author

Shannon Hengen is a professor of English at Laurentian University. Her teaching roles include modern and contemporary drama, American literature, womenâ??s writing, and the writerâ??s voice. She is also involved in the Interdisciplinary Masters in Humanities. Current research interests are Aboriginal and testimonial theatre, and Margaret Atwoodâ??s oeuvre.

Shannon Hengen's profile page