Diving Deep into Identity in Atwood's Surfacing
A Look at What’s Behind the Surface in this Canadian Novel
Dec 5, 2008
Many of Atwood’s novels delve into the theme of finding one’s self. Most of the time, the narrator on this self-journey is a female. Surfacing is one of these examples. However, the narrator’s quest for self-identity leads her down a path of madness, of animalistic desire and of extreme confusion.
The Quest for Self Identity
The quest for self-identity begins with a trip to the narrator’s childhood cabin with her lover and a married couple, in search of some answers surrounding her father’s recent and mysterious disappearance. The narrator spends some time looking around the cabin and the woods for some clues but she comes up empty. Once the surface is scrapped for answers, the readers are taken deeper into the story, both past and present.
The narrator soon discovers a map that may lead to a clue about her father. She must travel deep underwater to find hidden rocks marked on a map. Instead, she re-discovers her past and the truth about a shocking occurrence that has left her scarred emotionally and mentally. Her past still lingers deep within her, causing her to deceive herself and others around her.
Unfortunately, once the truth has been re-surfaced, the narrator’s quest leads her into a type of madness where she rejects society and human company and instead opts for nature and animals. She likens herself to an animal as she wraps herself in blankets and resorts to eating from the garden and living off the land. She envelops herself in a world of madness and wilderness.
Separation from Society
The narrator is constantly faced with feeling separated from the outside world. The setting of the novel, an island on a lake in Quebec, is completely secluded, miles away from society. The only way to leave the island is by canoe or boat and then onto a dirt road towards the cities and the American border.
However, the narrator is also constantly separated from the people around her. She refers to David, Anna and Joe as “they” and constantly remains in seclusion, away from them. She travels to find the secret rock by herself; she swims alone; and she spends the afternoons inside drawing by herself.
Another important element in Atwood’s Surfacing is Canadian nationalism. As an English-speaking Canadian in French-speaking Quebec, the narrator already feels disconnected with her roots and her home. She never quite understands the language and feels like an outsider in French speaking Canada. Once again, she feels separated from society.
Separation from Reality
As the novel progresses, readers learn that these separations only skim the surface. Readers dive deep into the real problem when they discover the narrator was forced to have an abortion after she got pregnant by a married man. Because of this, she has succumbed to a physiological breakdown, deceiving herself into thinking she was married and that the child lives with her ex-husband.
This separation anxiety has caused her to lose all connection with the outside world. In fact, towards the end of the novel she begins to act more like an animal than a human being. She is separating herself from society and from humanity.
Her quest below the surface has literally driven her deep into the madness of her past. However, the question remains, will she ever re-surface?
Works Consulted:
Atwood, Margaret. Surfacing. New York: Fawcett Public Library, 1972.
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