The Edible Woman (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Margaret Atwood
- First Published: 1969
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: The late 1960’s
- Setting: Toronto, Canada
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Social realism, Satire
- Subjects: Values, 1960’s, Self-discovery, Gender roles, Literature, Marriage, Friendship, Pregnancy, Feminism, Women’s issues, Lawyers, Canada or Canadians, Food, Human behavior, Lifestyles, Conformity, Bohemianism, Women’s movement, Parties, Office employees, Eating disorders, Fertility
- Locales: Toronto, Canada
Characters Discussed
Marian MacAlpin, a conventional young woman who works in a dull job and is engaged to Peter, a rising young attorney. As the date of her wedding approaches, she loses her appetite, first for red meat and then for all foods. Her behavior becomes increasingly erratic, and at one point she spends a night with Duncan, who seems to be completely unemotional. Marian discovers that she is rebelling against the conventions that have trained her to expect that the best life can offer her is marriage to a financially and socially successful man. The lives of her...
[The entire page is 860 words long]
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