Survival Strategies in Margaret Atwood’s Lady Oracle

Abstract

In her novel Lady Oracle, Margaret Atwood explores the issue of appearance and reality, the self as seen by others and the self as known from within. In this third novel, Atwood extends the concept of doubling inner and outer selves, appearances and realities. Through Lady Oracle, the fictional autobiography of Joan Foster, Atwood proclaims that both men and women are equal as they have the same human capabilities. Therefore gender-based injustices should be fought against in society. Lady Oracle exhorts women not to barter reality for a pseudo-security promised by the male. It also reveals that women no longer wish to be scapegoats in the mazes, thickets, and brambles of life. It exhorts them to exercise autonomy and opt for challenging careers. The novel comments on women like Joan, who is trapped by the mundanity of life where she remains unfulfilled..