Feminism in Margaret Atwood's Surfacing
Feminism is one of the most important themes during the 1970s. For centuries, women have been subjected to a male-dominated society. Recent history however, women start to struggle with what their roles should be in the society. As a female writer, Margaret Atwood develops the theme of feminism in her novel Surfacing, which was published in 1971. In the story, the unnamed narrator travels to a remote island that she grew up on to search for her missing father. Accompanied by her boyfriend, Joe and another young couple, David and Anna, she also begins a psychological journey. During the journey, she reveals the dualities in both her personal life and the patriarchal society. The individual relationships among the protagonist and the three secondary characters, reflect a world that oppresses and dominates femininity, and therefore, help readers better understand the protagonist's desperate need to reclaim her female identity. The relationship between Anna and David portrays the image of what a woman's role should be in a marriage. During her nine-year marriage, Anna lives a life of submission to David, constantly trying to please him. She always wear makeup, otherwise she is afraid that David will use sex as a weapon to
A certificate framed on the wall, his proof that he was still young" (149). He even requests the narrator to have sex with him and claims that Anna's own infidelities force him to be unfaithful to her. David's hypocrisy remains her the man who forced her to abort their unborn child, then to allow himself further sexual exploitation of her. Anna, you'er eating too much'" (98). She dresses herself in her torn clothing and prepares to join Joe on the boat back to the main land. With Joe, the narrator is more concerned about her self-identity than with her ex-lover. But when she sees the narrator dumping the film into the lake, she tries to stop her: "'You better not do that,' she said, 'they'll kill you' " (166). Through David, the narrator realizes she cannot escape from the male-dominated world. Eventually however, the retreat into the wilderness culminates in the need for her return. He shows his all-powerful and dominating status over women whenever he can. David not only dominates his wife, but also wants to press his male power onto other females: "'I hope you didn't sell out,' David said to me. She also battle with her husband: "her body her only weapon and she was fighting him because if she ever surrendered the balance of power would be broken and he would go elsewhere" (154). They are also the issues that are concerned about particularly in the 70s' Canadian society.
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