Na virada do pós-estruturalismo, um olhar menos unificado e universalizante do espaço como mero palco esvaziado de significação se vê proposto. Este, como já denunciava Michel Foucault nos anos 1970, deixará de ser percebido como fixo e simplesmente referencial, para adquirir, nos mais diversos fóruns de discussão, caráter dialético e dinâmico, o qual se alinha às questões centrais desta nova forma de conceber o mundo, a filosofia e o fazer científico. Paralelamente, estudos acerca da constituição da subjetividade apontam para o status oscilante desta, demonstrando como o sujeito é fruto de uma multiplicidade de discursos, os quais tornam impossíveis quaisquer esforços em demarcá-lo dentro de fronteiras estanques. Percebe-se aqui, portanto, um imbricamento das noções de ser e deslocar-se, no qual a apropriação de metáforas e do campo semântico em torno da noção de trânsitos mostrar-se-á constitutiva da obra literária, agindo como importante operador no desenvolvimento da trama e suas personagens. O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar a obra Alias Grace (1996) de Margaret Atwood, à luz da teoria do gênero, a fim de mapear a desconstrução de essencialismos acerca das protagonistas, Grace Marks e Simon Jordan. No romance, Atwood dá voz à personagem histórica Grace Marks, uma jovem imigrante irlandesa do século XIX, a qual se torna mentora e cúmplice do assassinato de seu patrão, Thomas Kinnear, e da governanta e suposta amante deste, Nancy Montgomery. Perceberemos ao longo da narrativa que esta personagem-narradora utilizar-se-á das diversas fronteiras que ronda e ultrapassa, como uma forma de expandir sua identidade a partir da manipulação sistemática que faz da linguagem. Paralelamente, Atwood cria uma personagem que desempenhará o papel de principal interlocutor da imigrante: o Dr. Simon Jordan, um jovem médico americano, cuja trajetória pessoal também é marcada por vários deslocamentos. Em um movimento antecipatório da psicanálise freudiana, ele se propõe a desvendar a mente de Grace, a fim de tentar extrair desta uma verdade, estabelecendo um diagnóstico que lhe confira sucesso e reconhecimento profissional. Como veremos, a autora empenhará uma crítica do masculino, na qual ele se verá gradativamente destituído de tudo aquilo que lhe conferiria status dentro do rol de expectativas daquela sociedade. Ademais, estabeleceremos uma leitura de um aspecto formal empregado ao longo das páginas do romance: as entradas paratextuais. A partir deste recurso, veremos nossas leituras de ambas as personagens sendo reforçadas em um constante deslizamento entre fontes, documentais e ficcionais, ligadas ao imaginário da época. Para tal, trabalhos de Philip Wegner (2002) e Neil Smith (1993) acerca da noção de espaço, Bronwen Walter (2001), Lorna McLean e Marilyn Barber (2004) sobre a imigração irlandesa no Canadá, Roland Barthes (1986), Gérard Genette (1987) e Linda Hutcheon (1990), acerca dos paratextos, bem como considerações de Chris Weedon (1987), Jane Flax (1990), R.W. Connell (1997), Judith Butler (1990), entre outros, em torno do gênero e pós-modernismo servirão de aparato teórico para esta investigação. / In the Post-structuralist turn, a less unified and universalizing concept of space as merely a meaningless stage is proposed. Such notion, as Michel Foucault announced in the 1970s, will no longer be perceived by its fixity and/or as simply referential, in order to acquire, in the most multiple forums of discussion, a dynamic character, which is aligned to central questions of this renewed way of conceiving the world, Philosophy, and Epistemology. In parallel fashion, studies concerning the constitution of subjectivity point towards its oscillating status, showing how the subject is the product of multiple discourses, which make any demarcating of solid frontiers, a hard task. Therefore, one can observe an imbrication of the notions being and displacing, in which the appropriation of metaphors and the semantic scope around the notion of transience is shown to be constitutive of the literary text, performing a relevant role in the development of the plot and its characters. The present work aims at analyzing the novel Alias Grace (1996) by Margaret Atwood, under the light of Gender theory, in order to map the deconstruction of essentialisms around the protagonists, Grace Marks and Simon Jordan. In her book, Atwood gives voice to the historical figure Grace Marks, young Irish immigrant in the XIX century, which becomes mentor and accomplice of murder of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his mistress and governess of the house, Nancy Montgomery. It can be seen that, throughout the narrative, Grace will negotiate with the various borders that she delineates, and even crosses, as a means of expanding her identity through the systematic manipulation of language she engages with. In parallel fashion, Atwood creates a character that will play the role of this immigrants main interlocutor: Dr. Simon Jordan, a young American physician, whose personal trajectory was also marked by several displacements. In an anticipatory movement of the Freudian psychoanalysis, he is determined to unveil the mysteries of the human mind, revealing the truth behind Graces case in order to gain success and professional recognition. As we will demonstrate, the author establishes a criticism around masculinity, in which he will gradually lose everything that gives him status as a man of his times, within the set of expectations in that society. Furthermore, we will analyze a formal aspect employed along the pages of the novel: its paratextuality. Through this resource, we will see our reading of both the protagonists being reinforced in the constant slippery move between sources, documental and fictional, linked to that eras imaginary. In order to do that, works by Philip Wegner (2002) and Neil Smith (1993) around the notion of space, Bronwen Walter (2001), Lorna McLean and Marilyn Barber (2004) on the Irish immigration in Canada, Roland Barthes (1986), Gérard Genette (1987) and Linda Hutcheon (1990), regarding paratexts, as well as the studies by Chris Weedon (1987), Jane Flax (1990), R.W. Connell (1997), Judith Butler (1990), among others, around gender and postmodernism will serve as the theoretical apparatus for this investigation.

This essay explores the theme of deep ecology in Margaret Atwood’s novel Oryx and Crake. It analyzes how the novel deals with the topics of environmental disasters and the apocalypse. It describes humanity’s effect on the planet and how the inventions of the Crakers and the BlyssPluss pill can be seen as good things. It argues that Crake can be seen as the savior of this new and improved world that he creates and that the human species’ annihilation is the only way. / Den här uppsatsen utforskar tema såsom ekokritik och djupekologi i Margaret Atwoods roman Oryx and Crake. Den analyserar hur romanen behandlar  ämnena miljökatastrofer och apokalypsen. Den beskriver människans effekt på planeten och hur uppfinningar såsom Crakers och BlyssPluss pillret kan vara bra saker. Vidare argumenterar den att Crake kan vara vår räddare för denna nya och förbättrade värld som han har skapat och hur förintelsen av människan är den enda rätta vägen.

This thesis examines three works: Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride and Alias Grace, and Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus. All three novels feature female characters that contain elements or myth fragments of mermaids and sirens. The thesis asserts that the images of the mermaid and siren have undergone a gradual process of change, from literal mythical figures, to metaphorical images, and then to figures or myth fragments that reference the original mythical figures. The persistence of these female half-human images points to an underlying rationale that is independent of historical and cultural factors. Using feminist psychoanalytic theoretical frameworks, the thesis identifies the existence of the siren/mermaid myth fragments that are used as a means to construct the category of the 'bad' woman. It then identifies the function that these references serve in the narrative and in the broader context of both Victorian and contemporary societies. The thesis postulates the origin of the mermaid and siren myths as stemming from the ambivalent relationship that the male infant forms with the mother as he develops an identity as an individual. Finally, the thesis discusses the manner in which Atwood and Carter build on this foundation to deconstruct the binary oppositions that disadvantage women and to expand the category of female.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of English

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on January 11, 2010). "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Comparative Literature. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is a comparative study of two contemporary novels: Christa Wolf's: Cassandra (1983) and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1985). / Wolf's Cassandra can be interpreted as a utopian projection. It is an expression of Wolf's not so modest proposal: "Literature today ought to be research on peace." / Atwood examines the underside of hope. While describing the present time as alarming, she speculates about the future. Juxtaposing the two novels provides a view of the political and philosophical imagination of the two authors. The cultural critique is esthetically expanded through the perspective of the protagonists. Both novels can be viewed as archeological work from a female perspective, as they attempt to provide a new vision by uncovering the blind spots of our western socio-political history.

Thesis (M.A.)--Villanova University, 2007. / English Dept. Includes bibliographical references.

Univ., Diss.--Kiel, 2004. / Literaturverz. S. 388 - 413.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2005. / Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 66 p. Includes bibliographical references.