Lady Oracle
Lady OracleLady Oracle by Margaret Atwood is a novel that tells the journey a woman takes from her teenage years until the present through her own thoughts and recollections. The protagonist, Joan Foster, is plagued by the memories and results of her mother's mental and emotional abuse. Joan does her best to change her interior and exterior appearance so people don't find out the secrets of her past, of which she is very ashamed. By the end of the novel Joan has gone through so much growth and change that she is finally happy with the person she is, and is done putting up false pretenses to be the person people expect her to be. The main theme of the novel is to love and accept yourself for who you are. This is proved through the protagonist's thoughts, actions and spiritual growth throughout the novel.
Most of the novel is told through Joan's own thoughts and memories. Because of the way the author chose to tell the story, we are able to learn a lot about the protagonist's troubled adolescence. Joan harbors a lot of resentment and anger towards her mother because of the serious emotional and mental abuse that she was put through. As a teenager, Joan was morbidly obese which is what encouraged her mother's mistreatment and condescending attitude. A good example of this can be found when Joan's mother says to her (Pg. 87): "Is this all your good for? Sitting around and eating? Look at yourself, it's disgusting!" This shows us just how much her mother is focused on physical appearance. The way Joan feels about herself and her mother is clearly shown through her thoughts and reflections. Joan has little self-confidence or self esteem. (Pg. 124): "It seemed like everything my mother had accused me of and predicted for me was coming true�I was nothing more than a fat, insecure, uncultured and useless blob�" This proves both the fact that Joan is insecure and also seriously influenced by her mother's past actions.
A lot of times, actions speak louder than words. What Joan says is not necessarily a reflection of the way she feels about herself, although her actions definitely are, as most of them somewhat unintentionally deceptive. When she is a teenager, Joan starves herself until she reaches her ideal weight so as to gain the acceptance she so craves from her mother. Also, her mother is not very supportive of Joan's quest for thinness, which makes Joan strive even harder. (Pg. 167) "I came home from work and having not eaten all day, decided to treat myself to a rice cake�my mother, upon hearing the cupboard open, entered the kitchen and proceeded to tell me what a fat, worthless, lazy girl I was�" This example shows us just how determined...
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