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DESCENT TO THE UNDERWORLD IN THE NOVELS OF MARGARET ATWOOD

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Date Issued:
1983
Summary:
The five novels of Margaret Atwood contain a pattern borrowed from The Aeneid of Virgil, Aeneas , guided by the Cumaean Sibyl, descends to the underworld to gain knowledge from his father, then returns to earth, equipped to fulfill his destiny. Atwood confronts her protagonists with similar tasks. The presence of an effective guide and of a positive parental influence contribute to the completion of each quest, but the prime determiner of success is the nature of the journey itself. Seen in her early novels as a source of growth and enlightenment, the journey is a vehicle of personal development and awakening. In later works, however, it becomes a snare of delusion which entraps characters in fantasy, cynicism, madness, despair and even death. Attwod unfolds a darkening vision of reality by the manipulation of various elements within the frame-work of descent and return.
Title: DESCENT TO THE UNDERWORLD IN THE NOVELS OF MARGARET ATWOOD.
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Name(s): HART, SANDRA PATTERSON.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Peyton, Ann, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1983
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 62 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The five novels of Margaret Atwood contain a pattern borrowed from The Aeneid of Virgil, Aeneas , guided by the Cumaean Sibyl, descends to the underworld to gain knowledge from his father, then returns to earth, equipped to fulfill his destiny. Atwood confronts her protagonists with similar tasks. The presence of an effective guide and of a positive parental influence contribute to the completion of each quest, but the prime determiner of success is the nature of the journey itself. Seen in her early novels as a source of growth and enlightenment, the journey is a vehicle of personal development and awakening. In later works, however, it becomes a snare of delusion which entraps characters in fantasy, cynicism, madness, despair and even death. Attwod unfolds a darkening vision of reality by the manipulation of various elements within the frame-work of descent and return.
Identifier: 14167 (digitool), FADT14167 (IID), fau:10979 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1983.
Subject(s): Atwood, Margaret Eleanor,--1939---Criticism and interpretation
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14167
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.