Life Before Man (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Margaret Atwood
- First Published: 1979
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Domestic realism
- Time of Work: October 29, 1976, to August 18, 1978
- Setting: Toronto, Canada
- Principal Characters: Elizabeth, Nate, Lesje, William, Martha, Chris, Muriel, Mrs. Schoenhof
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Domestic realism
- Subjects: Values, 1970’s, Self-discovery, Sex or sexuality, Suicide, Social issues, Art or artists, Marriage, Alienation, Manners or customs, Emotions, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Pregnancy, Adultery, Canada or Canadians, Depression, mental, Ethics, Loneliness, Men’s liberation movement, Museums
- Locales: Ontario, Canada, Toronto, Canada
Form and Content
Life Before Man has fifty-eight short sections, each dated and identified with one of the characters in a romantic triangle. Eighteen sections are narrated from Nate’s point of view, eighteen from Lesje’s, and twenty-two from Elizabeth’s. The narrative covers twenty-two months in their lives, from Nate’s first gesture in Lesje’s direction to a tentative hope that they have a future together. There are longer breaks in time as the story unfolds. Part 1 follows the three main characters through a single weekend; part 5, the last, covers almost a...
[The entire page is 2116 words long]
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