"Further in, the trees they didn't cut before the flood are marooned, broken and gray-white, tipped on their sides, their giant contorted roots bleached and skinless; on the sodden trunks are colonies of plants, feeding on disintegration, laurel, sundew the insect-eater, its toenail-sized leaves sticky with red hairs. Out of the leaf nests the flowers rise, pure white, flesh of gnats and midges, petals now, metamorphosis" (Atwood, 171).
These two passages are linked to one another due to the fact that they both discuss nature in a relatable way to the narrator's transformation over the course of the book. It is also advantageous to note how by including these passages, Atwood has demonstrated to the reader how everything is intertwined and death is not the end, which is what the narrator may have been struggling with.
The first passage addresses the transformation of a fish, which mirrors the narrator's personal transformation. The fish takes the form of numerous fish from a "carved" to an "antlered" to an "icon" and finally returning back to "an ordinary fish again". This is representative of the narrator as we see her explore different aspects of humans, especially those that are a part of "civilization". Specifically, she is transformed to an animal prior to this passage and still becomes a human once again. This passage is also concerned with other themes of the novel such as religion and art. Key artistic words that, perhaps, form a bridge to American Indian Mythology are "carved", "painted", and "drawn", while "icon" and "protecting spirit" point towards religion. This word choice draws attention to rock paintings associated with the magical and supernatural powers which is reflective of the narrator finding personal power in religion. It is also interesting to note how when the fish returns to it's original state, Atwood uses words that evoke a sense of peace and calmness as the fish "drops and softens, the circles widen". This could symbolize a new found sense of content for the narrator as she once again is a human as the fish is once again a fish. As a whole, this passage is depicting transformations as a sense of power and that at times going through times of uncertainty can have a positive impact.
Another relatable passage is one that discusses dead trees in a swamp that provide life for other species. The author, again, uses human characteristics to describe the beneficial affects of a devastating situation. The roots are described as "bleached and skinless" which symbolize death, while the "flesh of gnats" and the"colonies" of plants with "toenail-sized leaves" and "red hairs" are overtaking and feeding on the disintegration. This passage could also be hinting at the effects of civilization that the narrator despises so much. However, the last sentence of this passage is crucial to the author's intent since although there was this destruction, a beautiful metamorphosis has occurred as flowers rise. I think that Atwood is trying to ultimately point out the narrator's recognition of the psychological damage she has encountered and is a dramatization of the transformation she is experiencing through this parallel.
Questions:
1) Do you think there are other signs of the narrator's negative attitude toward civilization in these passages? Or are there other examples of the this dislike in similar situations?
2) What links to do you see between these themes and the narrator's father and unborn child?
I love the connection between the unborn child and the narrator's father! Both absent figures, and yet so powerful in her life. I wonder whether her inclination to allow herself to be controlled by these characters gives us information about her interactions with the present characters in her life (Joe, David, Anna, and even Paul). Great commentary, Stacy!
ReplyDeleteI think a definite connection between the passage about the fish and the narrator’s father immerges in these examples from Atwood. Just a paragraph prior to the fish quote, the narrator describes an experience she has with the image of her father. As the narrator comes upon her father’s projection she explains, “He has realized he was an intruder; the cabin, the fences, the fires and paths were violations; now his own fence excludes him, as logic excludes love. He wants it ended, the borders abolished, he wants the forest to flow back into the places his mind cleared: reparation.” This quote describes the transformation that the narrator’s father undergoes, in fact, one that proves similar to that of the narrator herself. We see the father rejecting signs of civilization such as the cabin and its fence. Just as the narrator experiences the process of shedding her old way of life in the material world, the father has also left behind the world of man. The narrator becomes excited as she views footprints in the mud where the apparition of her father appears, only to find that the markings are from her own feet. This supports the theory that the narrator follows in her father’s footsteps in her endeavor to leave the civilized world. The descriptive paragraph about the fish suggests that this metamorphosis is indeed possible as the narrator describes her father breaking free from society and becoming one with nature in the form of a fish. Her use of the phrase “returns to the water” signifies that her father, and quite possibly herself, have made a return to a true home in the natural world.
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