الفهرس 
Violence against Woman in The Edible WomanOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Atwood’s protagonists suffer from varying forms of victimization and
must overcome it. In these novels, women are stripped of their identities,
their inability to feel, their inability to connect with the others. They are also forbidden from reading, writing, and using the language. All these points are discussed in the following chapters. They are victimized by men at the beginning but at the end of each chapter they reject the
victimization process and have power.
The thesis explores how recognition and rejection of victimization in
feminist issues are reflected through the female protagonists of the three
novels, The Edible Woman, Surfacing, and The Handmaid’s Tale. The
female characters may be oppressed, but they are not portrayed as
powerless victims. They are often exposed to abundant suffering.
Atwood has stated that these characters suffer because they imitate the
experiences of women in reality.
In order to understand Atwood’s female characters, it is necessary to
examine certain ideas that can be seen in Atwood’s works, specifically
her thoughts on feminism, victimization and survival. Her works have
been thoroughly studied and examined. Hélèn Cixous is a French feminist
who proposes an imaginary utopia which is free of sex roles, otherness,
and the law of the father. She made a distinction between good and bad
power which can be applied to The Edible Woman, Surfacing, and The
Handmaid’s Tale.
Feminist critics such as Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, and Hélèn
Cixous will be adopted to the study. They are chosen to achieve a full
comprehension of the thematic and artistic value of the novels and how
far they succeed in reflecting Margaret Atwood’s views about recognition
and rejection of victimization.