The protagonist of this novel is Elaine Risley, who experiences bullying as a child. The bullies are a group of young girls who mostly taunt her about her appearance, making her feel depressed and miserable. In one particularly traumatic experience, Elaine almost freezes to death after trying to retrieve a hat that had been thrown in a river by her bullies. These experiences stay with Elaine her whole life, even after she has a child of her own: "Most mothers worry when their daughters reach adolescence, but I was the opposite. I relaxed, I sighed with relief. Little girls are cute and small only to adults. To one another they are not cute. They are life-sized."
Here we see a suggestion about how cruel women can be to other women. This is significant, as Atwood is suggesting that sometimes it is women who hinder the feminist movement. Elaine's traumatic experiences in her childhood were caused by other girls, not by boys. There is a suggestion that cruel taunting between girls is more sinister than the more explicit aggression seen in young boys.
Later in her life Elaine meets other feminists, who focus on how men have hindered feminism. However, she does not resonate with this, as her pain has been caused by other women. Through this text, Atwood advocates kindness between women. Instead of being cruel to one another, women ought to show a sense of solidarity towards their fellow women. However, she suggests that this is often not the case.
This novel is also about identity, and we see how seemingly insignificant or small actions can impact someone indefinitely. Elaine's experiences with bullying as a child impact her life entirely. One example is the fact she herself becomes a bully towards Cordelia in high school. Another example is the fact it impacts her parenting, as she sees the potential for cruelty in her young daughter. Finally, Elaine is riddled with guilt after she refuses to help Cordelia, which impacts her life and her art.
