Re-reading Margaret Atwood’s “The Robber Bride”
When I recently reorganized my library, I came across Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Robber Bride, which was published a long time ago. At that time, it was mostly read as a feminist novel, since all major characters are women who have to survive in a hostile environment. As I found out when I reread the novel, it is still a fascinating work with a light ironic touch, although it deals with serious, sometimes traumatic experiences. Once you start reading, you cannot put the book down.
How does the author do it? One can think of The Robber Bride as a mock mystery. There is no lack of criminal actions. A mysterious beautiful woman with an uncertain and dubious past intervenes in the lives of three Toronto women, taking away from them what they cherish most: their lovers and husbands, not to mention financial assets.
What is missing, however, is the traditional (male) detective who is expected to restore the social order. Instead, it becomes the task of the three women, a successful businesswoman, a professor of history (specializing in military history!), and a yoga teacher, to defend themselves, a task for which they are not well prepared. Given the power of the evil opponent, the reader is worried and kept in suspense. But they succeed in their own way when they are challenged by the return of the threatening robber bride.
In Atwood’s world, on the surface well-ordered but controlled by the destructive power of Big Money, there are no safe places left when it comes to the survival of the family. The characters realize that they are not in control, but they learn to cope with this uncertainty.
Atwood’s detached narrator challenges the readers by undermining the conventional investigation of the crime, but she lets them know that her heroines can survive because of their inner strength. As surprising as it may sound, given the prominent status of the author in the world of literature, the book is a page-turner.
Have you read or would you like to read Atwood’s The Robber Bride?
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