Margaret Atwood

by Shannon Hengen

  726.______. “‘Où maintenant? Quand maintenant? Qui maintenant?’ Die namenlose Ich-Erzahlfigur im Roman.” Poetica: Zeitschrift für Sprach- und Literaturwissens-chaft 23.1-2 (1991): 257-275.

  727.PATTON, Marilyn. “Lady Oracle: The Politics of the Body.” Ariel: A Review of International English Literature 22.4 (October 1991): 29-48. Speaks to the influence of myth and Robert Graves’s The White Goddess upon Atwood; in this novel, Atwood confronts the White Goddess myth and both destroys and celebrates her.

  728.PETERSON, Nancy Jean. “The Politics of Language: Feminist Theory and Contemporary Works by Women of Color.” PhD thesis. University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1991. 340 pp. “This dissertation discusses works by women of color that thematize and enact the politics of language of profound concern to feminist critics and theorists. Using texts authored mainly by white, bourgeois women, most feminists have argued that women are disempowered in/by ‘mal(e)functioning’ language (Mary Daly). Women of color share with poststructuralist feminists such as Luce Irigaray and Hélène Cixous skepticism about representation and the adequacies of any language to inscribe their multiple differences. However, rather than articulating an anxiety of language that marks texts by many white women writers and theorists (e.g. Daly, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Homans), women of color emphasize their creative agency, their ability to re-form language and genre; this quality they share with pragmatist feminists such as Alicia Ostriker, Mae Henderson, and Adrienne Rich.” (Author). For more see DAI-A 53.03 (September 1992): 812.

  729.POWERS, Meredith A. The Heroine in Western Literature: The Archetype and Her Reemergence in Modern Prose. Jefferson, NC; London: McFarland, 1991. 167, 168, 193. Very brief mention of Atwood.

  730.QUIGLEY, Theresia M. The Child Hero in the Canadian Novel. Toronto: NC Press, 1991. 183. The emphasis in Lady Oracle is on escaping from the pain of childhood and that in Cat’s Eye is on coming to terms with childhood traumas; both novels parallel similar themes in other Canadian novels written at the same time.

  731.RAO, Eleonora. “Strategies for Identity: The Fiction of Margaret Atwood.” PhD thesis. University of Warwick (United Kingdom), 1991. 407 pp. This thesis “focuses on problems pertaining to the questions of genre, identity and female subjectivity. The thesis is thematically structured. Chapter One, ‘The Question of Genre: Creative Reappropriations,’ explores the plurality of genres and narrative styles present in the novels. The second Chapter ‘A Proliferation of Identities: Doubling and Intertextuality,’ examines constructions of the self in the light of psychoanalytic theories of language and subjectivity which conceive of the subject as heterogeneous and in constant process. Chapter Three, ‘Cognitive Questions,’ discusses the text’s emphasis on sense receptivity and the epistemological question they [i.e., The Cognitive Questions] pose in relation to language, reality and interpretation. Chapter Four, ‘Writing the Female Character,’ analyses Atwood’s configurations of femininity, sexual politics and sexual difference.” (Author). For more see DAI-A 53.03 (September 1992): 813.

  732.REESMAN, Jeanne Campbell. “Dark Knowledge in The Handmaid’s Tale.” CEA Critic 53.3 (Spring-Summer 1991): 6-22. The female voice is characterized by hermeneutic fiction, particularly dualism, dialogue, and ambiguity in place of a single truth.

  733.RIBEIRO, Ofelia. “A Different Thread: An Analysis of the Diary Form in the Representation of the Female Self.” MA thesis. Concordia University, 1991. Also available on microfiche from Canadian Theses Service (1991). “A historical perspective of the development of the diary, both in its fictional and its nonfictional form, will reveal how extensively it has been used in the past as well as how it is currently being employed. Several novels, Doris Lessing’s The Golden Notebook, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, form the thrust of the literary interpretation of the contemporary diary novel in an effort to examine the nature of the representation of the female self.” (Author).

  734.ROCARD, Marcienne. “Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing and Alma Luz Villanueva’s The Ultraviolet Sky: The Spiritual Journeys of Two Women Artists: One Anglo-Canadian and One Mexican American.” Recherches anglaises et nord-américaines 24 (1991): 155-161.

  735.RODRÍGUEZ, Ileana. “De lecturas y escrituras. De la nota al texto. Centrando ‘Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum.’” Revista de Critica Literaria Latinoameri-cana 17.33 (1991): 59-68. The Handmaid’s Tale is part of this discussion on reading and writing, women and literacy, and limitations on women.

  736.ROSENFELT, Deborah Silverton. “Feminism, ‘Postfeminism,’ and Contemporary Women’s Fiction.” Tradition and the Talents of Women. Ed. Florence Howe. Ur-bana; Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1991. 268-291. Traces the development from feminist texts to a different set of characteristics common in novels starting in the mid-eighties; The Handmaid’s Tale is described in terms of these features.

  737.RYAN, Bryan, ed. Major 20th-Century Writers: A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors. Detroit, MI: Gale Research, 1991. 146-151. Integrates a wide range of critical work on Atwood into an outline of her literary career; includes brief biographical notes, primary bibliography, and a list of sources.

  738.SCHISSEL, Wendy L. “The Keepers of Memory: Canadian Mythopoeic Poets and Magic Realist Painters.” PhD thesis. University of Calgary, 1991. 256 pp. “By ‘raiding’ many feminist theoretical approaches, we can also find analogies between the works of Margaret Atwood and Mary Pratt. Whether or not Atwood and Pratt’s intentions are as critical as we read them, when we approach their arts through feminist subjectivities, we recognize a common challenge in the poetry and painting to phallocentric assumptions about the representations of women.” (Author). For more see DAI-A 53.10 (April 1993): 3520.

  739.SÖDERLIND, Sylvia. Margin/Alias: Language and Colonization in Canadian and Québécois Fiction. Toronto; Buffalo, NY; London: University of Toronto Press, 1991. 264 pp. A few references to Atwood.

  740.STAELS, Hilde. “Fiction and the Seduction of Its Designs: A Study of Narrative Discourse in the Novels of Margaret Atwood.” PhD thesis. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 1991. 381 pp.

  741.STAHLMAN, Susan Jane. “Escapees from the Attic: A Study of George Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Margaret Atwood.” MA thesis. University of Mississippi, 1991. 110 pp. Chapter on Margaret Atwood (68-97) concentrates on Surfacing.

  742.STEWART, Margaret. “The Seeing Eye, the Speaking Voice: Investigations of Voice in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Cat’s Eye.” MA thesis. University of Guelph, 1991. 155 pp. Also available on microfiche from Canadian Theses Service (1992). This thesis “is premised upon the conviction that throughout all of Atwood’s utterances the reader hears a consistent voice speaking, and that the firm presence of the author is detectable in her work. The thesis explores various means of affirming this authorial voice. These include metafictive elements, connections between fictive and extra-fictive works, recurrences in the fiction, linked image patterns, and the tone of authority that is so characteristic of Atwood. In addition, the paper investigates the stylistic and grammatical idiosyncrasies that support and contribute to the authoritative tone of the texts.” (Author). For more see MAI 31.02 (Summer 1993): 572.

  743.STOCKS, Anthony G. “Atwood, Margaret (Eleanor).” Contemporary Poets. 5th ed. Ed. Tracy Chevalier. Chicago; London: St. James Press, 1991. 26-29. Biography, bibliography, short critical essay on her poetry.

  744.STURGESS, Charlotte. “Text and Territory in Margaret Atwood’s ‘Unearthing Suite.’” Études canadiennes / Canadian Studies 31 (1991): 81-87. “The short story ‘Unearthing Suite’ defines narration as the ongoing conflict of form and process. Governing these polarities in search of resolution is Atwood’s metaphor of nature as a signifying force akin to language, ending this duality.” (Author).

  745.SWEARINGEN, C. Jan. Rhetoric and Irony: Western Literacy and Western Lies. New York; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 216-217, 247. Mentions character Cordelia from Cat’s Eye.

  746.
TEMPLIN, Charlotte. “Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.” Explicator 49.4 (Summer 1991): 255-256. Offers evidence that the novel is set in the 21st century, not in the 20th.

  747.TENNANT, Colette Giles. “Margaret Atwood’s Transformed and Transforming Gothic.” PhD thesis. Ohio State University, 1991. 268 pp. “Whereas Gothic literature typically portrays women as victims, Atwood’s use of the genre seeks to alert and inform women readers so that they can avoid victimization. Atwood also transforms traditional elements of the Gothic genre so that her novels seem more modern and ‘psychological.’ The four elements of the traditional Gothic that At-wood employs and yet transforms are: the use of settings, the role of men, the prevalence of violence, and the transformation of characters.” (Author). For more see DAI-A 52.09 (March 1992): 3289.

  748.TRACY, Laura. The Secret Between Us: Competition Among Women. Boston; Toronto; London: Little, Brown, 1991. 61 pp. Refers to Atwood and Cat’s Eye to illustrate harm of revenge.

  749.VEVAINA, Coomi S. “The Theme of Alienation and Survival in the Novels of Margaret Atwood and the Manawaka Novels of Margaret Laurence.” PhD thesis. S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Bombay, 1991.

  750.WILLIAMS, David. Confessional Fictions: A Portrait of the Artist in the Canadian Novel. Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, 1991. passim. Lady Oracle and Survival mentioned.

  751.WILSON, Rob. American Sublime: The Genealogy of a Poetic Genre. Madison; London: University of Wisconsin Press, 1991. 70-71. Brief mention of Atwood’s work in compiling the New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English.

  752.WILSON, Sharon R. “Atwood, Margaret.” Bénet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia of American Literature. Ed. George Perkins, Barbara Perkins, and Phillip Leininger. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. 52-53. Brief bio-critical sketch.

  753.______. “Eyes and I’s.” International Literature in English: Essays on the Major Writers. Ed. Robert L. Ross. New York; London: Garland, 1991. 225-239. Critical essay concentrates upon Cat’s Eye as the Atwood novel most concerned with vision, stating that Elaine’s identity (“I”) is dependent on her artistic vision (“eye”). Essay accompanied by biographical and bibliographical information.

  754.WOODCOCK, George. “Atwood, Margaret (Eleanor).” Contemporary Novelists. 5th ed. Ed. Lesley Henderson and Noelle Watson. Chicago; London: St. James Press, 1991. 57-60. Biography, bibliography, and critical essay on Atwood’s fiction.

  Reviews of Atwood’s Works

  755.Cat’s Eye. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; New York: Doubleday; London: Bloomsbury, 1988.

  Women’s Studies 18.4 (1991): 445-455. By Gayle GREENE. Note length of this review.

  756.For the Birds. Toronto; Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1990.

  Atlantic Provinces Book Review 18.1 (February-March 1991): 13. By Linda HODGINS.

  Canadian Book Review Annual 1990. Ed. Joyce M. Wilson. Toronto: Simon and Pierre, 1991. 456-457. By Alice KIDD.

  CM 19.2 (March 1991): 93-94. By Jennifer JOHNSON.

  Emergency Librarian 19.1 (September-October 1991): 57. By Joan McGRATH.

  Environment Views 14.2 (Fall 1991): 25.

  Probe Post 13.4 (Winter 1991): 36. By Bridget AMBROGIO.

  Quill and Quire 56.11 (November 1990): 11. By Pamela HICKMAN.

  Toronto Star 14 February 1991: Section: Neighbors: N12. By Kim PITTAWAY. (736 w).

  757.The Handmaid’s Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986; New York: Fawcett Crest, 1987.

  Odd Jobs: Essays and Criticism. New York: Knopf, 1991: 425-436. By John UPDIKE.

  Women’s Studies International Forum 14.3 (1991): 231-233. By Theresa SAUTER-BAILLET.

  758.Poems 1965-75. London: Virago, 1991.

  Poetry Wales 27.1 (June 1991): 69-70. By Gillian CLARKE.

  759.Selected Poems: 1966-1984. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1990.

  Canadian Book Review Annual 1990. Ed. Joyce M. Wilson. Toronto: Simon and Pierre, 1991. 206-207. By Shannon HENGEN.

  CM 19.1 (January 1991): 47. By Loÿs MAINGON.

  Sunday Times 10 March 1991 Section 6: 10. By Carol RUMENS.

  University of Toronto Quarterly 61.1 (Fall 1991): 57. By Ronald B. HATCH.

  760.La Servante écarlate. Translated by Sylviane Rue. Paris: J’ai lu, 1989. [The Handmaid’s Tale.]

  Femmes d’action 20.2 (November 1990-January 1991): 30. By Colette GODIN.

  761.Wilderness Tips. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart; London: Bloomsbury; New York: Talese/Doubleday, 1991.

  Atlanta Journal and Constitution 15 December 1991: Section: N: 8. By Ann HUME. (647 w).

  Belles Lettres 7.1 (Fall 1991): 43. Plus brief annotation for Margaret Atwood: Conversations following review. By Suzanne BERNE.

  Booklist 87.21 (July 1991): 2011. By Ray OLSON.

  Books 5.6 [sic, 5] (November-December 1991): 21. ANON.

  Books in Canada 20.7 (October 1991): 29-32. By Brian FAWCETT.

  Boston Globe 1 December 1991: Section: Books: A13. By Gail CALDWELL. (1096w).

  Boston Herald 8 December 1991 LIT NewsBank 1992: 1: C10. By Mary KRAMER.

  Canadian Forum 70 (November 1991): 30-33. By Sherrill GRACE.

  Christian Science Monitor 27 December 1991: 14. By Merle RUBIN. (1069 w).

  Financial Times (London) 14 September 1991: Section: Weekend: XVI. By Anthony CURTIS. (710 w).

  Fortune 124.15 (30 December 1991): 137. By Gil SCHWARTZ.

  The Guardian (London) 31 October 1991: s.p. By Claire MESSUD. (511 w). Available from Lexis-Nexis. “Atwood is not a natural short-story writer: most of the pieces in this collection strain for bigger things, squashing entire decades into flashy, occasionally sloppy, paragraphs. When she does pause to focus her prose, Atwood’s revelations charm, or move, or evoke the wistfulness and reflection of maturity; but these moments alone are not sufficient to redeem the stories.”

  Hartford Courant (CT) 8 December 1991: Section: Arts: 3. By Jocelyn McCLURG. (1014 w).

  Houston Chronicle 22 December 1991: Section: Zest: 13. By Sally POIVOIR. (759 w).

  The Independent 13 October 1991: Section: Sunday Review: 38. By Hermione LEE. (588 w).

  Kirkus Reviews 59.17 (1 September 1991): 1104. ANON.

  Library Journal 116.13 (August 1991): 74. By Barbara HOFFERT.

  Library Journal 116.18 (1 November 1991): 133. By Marnie WEBB.

  London Review of Books 13.23 (5 December 1991): 20. By John BAYLEY.

  Los Angeles Times Book Review 8 December 1991: 3. By Richard EDER. (1092 w).

  Literary Review 159 (September 1991): 18. By Nicolette JONES.

  Maclean’s 104.37 (16 September 1991): 58. By John BEMROSE. (899 w).

  Minneapolis Star and Tribune 24 November 1991 LIT NewsBank 1991: 95: C2-3. By Robert LACY.

  New Statesman and Society 29 November 1991: 33. By Judy COOKE.

  New York 24.47 (2 December 1991): 160. By Rhoda KOENIG.

  New York Times (Late Edition) 26 November 1991: C18. By Michiko KAKUTANI. (917 w).

  New York Times Book Review 24 November 1991: 7. By James WILCOX.

  New York Times Book Review 1 December 1991: 65 (in Notable Books of the Year). Mentioned also, with short annotation, in “And Bear in Mind” section on p. 72, same issue.

  The Observer (London) 15 September 1991: 62. By Nicci GERRARD. (353 w).

  Paragraph 14.1 (1992): 21-22. By Lynn CROSBIE.

  Publishers Weekly 238.44 (4 October 1991): 78. By Sybil STEINBERG.

  Quill and Quire 57.8 (August 1991): 14. By Daniel JONES.

  Quill and Quire 57.10 (October 1991): 27. By George WOODCOCK.

  The Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, ON) 21 September 1991: Section: Books: D6. By John KELLY. (686 w).

  San Francisco Review of Books 16.3 (1991): 52-53. By Suzanne SAMUEL.

  The Spectator 267 (12 October 1991): 36-37. By Anita BROOKNER.

  Sunday Times 22 September 1991: Section 7: 4. By Penny PERRICK. (546 w).

  The Times 19 September 1991: Section: Features: s.p. By Victoria GLENDIN-NING. (797 w). Available fro
m Lexis-Nexis.

  TLS 13 September 1991: 20. By Aamer HUSSEIN.

  Toronto Star 7 September 1991: Section: Weekend: G12. By Philip MAR-CHAND. (972 w). “A collection of stories in which feeling and the sympathetic imagination has by and large been successfully strangled.”

  Tribune Books (Chicago) 24 November 1991: Section 14: 3. By Clark BLAISE.

  Tribune Books (Chicago) 8 December 1991: Section 14: 1.

  Voice Literary Supplement December 1991: 9. By Carol ANSHAW.

  Reviews of Adaptations of Atwood Works

  762.The Handmaid’s Tale. [Motion Picture]. Screenplay by Harold Pinter; directed by Volker Schlondorff. United States: Cinecom Entertainment Group, 1990. 12 reels of 12 on 6 (ca. 9324 ft.).

  The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction. Ed. Phil Hardy. London: Au-rum Press, 1991. 449.

  Film Review 1991-2: Including Video Releases. London: Virgin Books, 1991. 54. By James CAMERON-WILSON.

  Magill’s Cinema Annual 1991: A Survey of the Films of 1990. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena, CA; Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1991: 146-149. By Robert STRAUSS.

  Nuclear Movies: A Critical Analysis and Filmography of International Feature Length Films Dealing with Experimentation, Aliens, Terrorism, Holocaust and Other Disaster Scenarios, 1914-1989. Jefferson, NC; London: McFar-land, 1991: 188-189. By Mick BRODERICK.

  The Time Out Film Guide. 2nd ed. Ed. Tom Milne. London: Penguin Books, 1991. 278. By Steve GRANT.

  ~ 1992 ~

  Atwood’s Works

  763.Ademden Önceki Yaşam. Istanbul: Afa Yayinlari, 1992. Turkish translation of Life Before Man.

  764.“Afterword.” Anne of Green Gables. By L. M. Montgomery. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart (New Canadian Library), 1992. 331-336.

  765. “Angela Carter: 1940-1992.” Unpublished in 1992. Later published in Curious Pursuits: Occasional Writing 1970-2005. London: Virago, 2005. 155-157.

  766.“The Art of Pachter: As Canadian as the Queen on a Moose.” Canadian Forum 71.814 (November 1992): 17-20. Excerpted from “Foreword” to Charles Pachter (see 780).