Women to Admire: Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood is a writer who pulls no punches and doesn’t skimp on beautiful prose. Here’s why we admire this famous author.
It can be hard, sometimes, to admire someone who is so good at picking out the flaws in your society and your species. But Margaret Atwood is so good at what she does, and does it with such heart and moral certitude, that you can’t help but be compelled by her work.
The work is sometimes frightening. Atwood, who has been a prominent novelist for quite some time, recently moved into an even larger spotlight thanks to The Handmaid’s Tale. This 1985 novel was adapted into a very successful series streaming on Hulu, starring Elisabeth Moss.
That series was eerily timed when it premiered and still feels so even as we await season 3 later this year. After the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, many felt as if we were in the opening days of Gilead, the highly conservative and deeply misogynistic dystopia featured in The Handmaid’s Tale.
But Atwood doesn’t make things easy. She rarely falls perfectly into line with any side, and is more often found speaking out against extremism of any kind. Her comments about the #MeToo movement and the need for due process have brought the ire of some. Responses to that piece ranged from supportive to furious.
Born in 1939 in Ottawa, Canada, Atwood spent much of her childhood in rural Quebec, thanks to her father’s work as an entomologist. She published her first work, a book of poetry, in 1961 and has been writing and publishing more or less continuously since then. Her work encompasses a wide range of forms and genres, from poetry, to novels, to chamber operas. Yes, really, an opera.
Atwood’s Pauline, based on the final days of Canadian writer and performing artist E. Pauline Johnson, premiered in 2014 in Vancouver.
Besides The Handmaid’s Tale, some of her best-known work includes The Edible Woman (1969), Cat’s Eye (1988), The Robber Bride (1993), and Alias Grace (1996). More recently, she’s moved to outright speculative fiction with Oryx and Crake (2003) and its two follow up novels, though Atwood has been resistant to the label of “science fiction.” As time goes on, however, even Atwood’s resistance has apparently softened.
Why are so many people compelled by Atwood’s work? Perhaps it’s because she is so skilled at interweaving the mundane and the strange. Everyday occurrences, like meeting with your friends for lunch, plunge you into a world of menace and rich confusion.
Also, Atwood is unafraid to make women into complex characters. They aren’t merely angels or demons. They are human beings full of their own mistakes and triumphs. Certainly, Atwood isn’t going to give you easy answers.
Zenia, the central “villain” at the heart of The Robber Bride, may be a horrible man-stealing enemy… or did she save her three friends from terrible relationships? Could she even exist far outside that dichotomy?
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Atwood is also just a plain good writer. Her language is evocative, often spare, and direct. She doesn’t indulge in sentimentality. Furthermore, she easily inhabits the personas of her characters. Atwood can write in the voice of 19th century Grace Marks as easily as she does a post-apocalyptic homeless man.
Many who have read one of her works feel as if they’ve stepped out of a beautifully scripted dream. Her work makes us feel both more connected to the world and just distant enough to see it all clearly. Do yourself a favor and pick up one of her books today!