In Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Edible Woman, the main character Marian is depicted as a “normal” woman, who is perfect and desirable. This perfection leads her to be “consumed” by men and those surrounding her, illustrating the name of the novel, “the edible woman.” Throughout the novel, The Edible Woman, Atwood connects this to the consumption of food around Marian leading her to reject any form of food that may be taking advantage of animals. In the final passage of the novel, I believe that Atwood is trying to reveal that Marian is rejecting her old self and is becoming a new self by taking charge of her life. For instance, Marian is taking control of her life by becoming an extreme consumer that uses to the point of pure enjoyment and
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By becoming the consumer and eating again I see it represents Marian being set free from the bondage of the one used by others and instead becoming a user. The passage shows that Marian consuming food does not mean she is back to being normal or how she was before. Marian instead has gone to the opposite extreme, where consuming is something she delights and takes pleasure in. A cake in the form of a cadaver symbolizes a person. I believe it shows her taking control over her life by eating the cadaver because she is now making the decisions to consume or not. She is becoming the worst form of a consumer, a consumer of people. Marian’s thoughts are exposed as she says, “It gave me a peculiar sense of satisfaction to see him eat as if the work hadn’t been wasted after all.” I believe that this statement shows the reader that Marian isn’t back to normal but that she now takes pleasure in being a consumer to a negative extreme. Margaret Atwood used language here that was important that I believe draws in the point of her going to extreme consumerism. A “Sense of satisfaction” is not a phrase that would be used by a character like Marian. Marian did not take delight in much of anything through the majority of the novel, but in this passage, Marian is pleased and content. This illustrates the confidence and charge that is building inside her
By becoming the consumer and eating again I see it represents Marian being set free from the bondage of the one used by others and instead becoming a user. The passage shows that Marian consuming food does not mean she is back to being normal or how she was before. Marian instead has gone to the opposite extreme, where consuming is something she delights and takes pleasure in. A cake in the form of a cadaver symbolizes a person. I believe it shows her taking control over her life by eating the cadaver because she is now making the decisions to consume or not. She is becoming the worst form of a consumer, a consumer of people. Marian’s thoughts are exposed as she says, “It gave me a peculiar sense of satisfaction to see him eat as if the work hadn’t been wasted after all.” I believe that this statement shows the reader that Marian isn’t back to normal but that she now takes pleasure in being a consumer to a negative extreme. Margaret Atwood used language here that was important that I believe draws in the point of her going to extreme consumerism. A “Sense of satisfaction” is not a phrase that would be used by a character like Marian. Marian did not take delight in much of anything through the majority of the novel, but in this passage, Marian is pleased and content. This illustrates the confidence and charge that is building inside her