Short Fiction of Margaret Atwood Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Short Fiction of Margaret Atwood Symbols, Allegory and Motifs

Black - “Rape Fantasies”

Greta envisions a rapist who is “dressed in black with black gloves.” Black signifies the forthcoming endangerment of rape.

Knife - “Rape Fantasies”

A knife characterizes the forcefulness inevitable during a rape. The knife intimidates the victim to give into involuntary sex.

Dark Street - “Rape Fantasies”

Estelle’s rape fantasy transpires in ‘a dark street.’ The dark street is representational of the precarious localities where a woman could be waylaid and raped.

“Green paper and a ballpoint pen” - “The Man from Mars”

‘The man from Mars’ invites Christine to write her name on the ‘green paper’ that he provides. Little does Christine know that the details she offers the man are what the man will utilize to track her. The “green paper” steers the man like a GPS locator.

Tennis Racquet - “The Man from Mars”

The Tennis racket denotes a weapon that can be handy for Christine’s self-defense. After momentarily getting rid of the man, Christine wonders, “why should she be frightened anyway, he was only half her size and she had the tennis racquet, there was nothing he could do to her.” Christine presupposes that, should the man attempt to assault her, she would smash him with the racket to guard herself.

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