Margaret Atwood is perhaps the leading figure in contemporary Canadian literature and the one with the most significant reputation outside as well as within Canada. She has written important works of poetry, fiction, and literary criticism. He main work of literary criticism, Survival, identifies survival as the major them of Canadian literature. In her own work she explores this both in the historical context of female pioneers Susannah Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill and in its contemporary manifestations, both in the classically Canadian cottage experience (Surfacing) and in urban life. Her works often have feminist themes and explore the inner worlds of female characters strive to survive in a patriarchal world. Recently, she has begun to explore dystopian fantasy.