Intertextuality in Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride
Keywords:
Patriarchal, myth, intertextuality, victim, avengerAbstract
Margaret Atwood is the first major author of Canada to envision a new woman as self-cognizant, self-governing and searching to acquire an identity of her own. As a versatile genius, Atwood through her novel explores the condition of women and their status in the Canadian patriarchal society. She portrayed women as both victims and avengers in her works. In her fiction and poetry, she often employed Canadian and Universal myths to portray the female/human predicament. Her works are often known for their intertextuality, The Robber Bride uses intertextuality like Triple Goddess and The Three Little Pigs. This article attempts to study Atwood’s The Robber Bride (1993) in the light of intertextuality. Zenia, the protagonist of the novel is a whore who rebels against male sexual politics in a patriarchal society. She rejects society’s view of fallen women, oppressed by male and uses her body as a weapon to humiliate men. Her strength is the power of female sexuality. She traps men, seduces them and then, abandons them. Zenia is a homeless, demonic woman who wants to revolt against male hegemony.
References
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