Under His Eye: Power and Gender Performativity in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake

Abstract

[Abstract] This Master‘s thesis engages in a comparative analysis of two characters from two different novels by Margaret Atwood: Offred, from The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) and Oryx, from Oryx and Crake (2003). This comparative analysis is divided into two parts: the first one is concerned with the use of power, language and discourse observed in both novels and characters, following Foucault‘s theories; the second one explores the differences and similarities of Offred and Oryx regarding gender performativity and the objectification of women, following Butler‘s considerations and reflections. The main aim of this analysis is to find relevant parallelisms between two seemingly opposite figures, and to examine Atwood‘s work in the light of Foucault‘s and Butler‘s theorization. Finally, the juxtaposition of both characters is aimed at attracting attention to the character of Oryx, which I regard as unfairly neglected and highly significant in Atwood‘s oeuvre.