A Quest of Her Own in Nature: A Psychoanalytical Study of Atwood‟s Surfacing

Abstract

Surfacing is one of Margaret Atwood‟s most successful works. Accordingly, the novel has been studied from diverse points of view. This paper intends to present a psychoanalytical study of the protagonist of the novel according to theories of Kristeva and Jung. Surfacing is the story of a woman who uses the quest form in order to find her lost father, her identity, and her past ties. This unnamed protagonist is one who feels a sense of loss and melancholia; she exhibits strange behavior, loses her language and isolates herself. The protagonist suffers from an internal division that needs to be fixed; the whole novel deals with her journey to wholeness. The story may be interpreted as a process of individuation. Through the struggle to reclaim her identity and roots, the protagonist begins psychological journey that leads her directly in to the natural world. The nature acts as a tool of self-exploration, helping the protagonist to advance in her healing process. It is the aim of this paper to discuss how Margaret Atwood‟s melancholic female protagonist in Surfacing goes on a quest- journey in the wildness to deal with her sense of loss and regain a new life