Paper Title
Marginalization of Women in Margaret Atwood‟s Novels Surfacing and Lady Oracle
Abstract
Surfacing, published in 1972, and Lady Oracle, published in 1976, written by the magnificent Margaret Atwood, are extraordinary novels that deliver powerful messages about women and their roles in the society. Both of the novels follow the lives of female protagonists who are willing to change and sacrifice their identities in order to fulfil the societal expectations imposed on them. Because of the relentless pressure to perform the traditional roles assigned to women, these women find their only solution in escape, both literal and metaphorical.In this paper I will attempt to search for the concealed reasons behind women’s alienation, analysing their psychological state of mind and background events, thoughts and emotions that triggered their wish to escape. I will look into the social expectations that women feel pressured to fulfil, as well as the men’s attitude towards feminist issues. Eventually I will try to answer the following questions: why is the woman expected to become a surface of what social expectations and people want her to be; and, are we, as the society, making any progress towards solving the issues that concern women?
Keywords - Female Identity, Feminism, Gender Stereotypes, Marginalization of Women, Tradition.