Echoes of Jane Eyre in the Novels of Margaret Atwood

Abhinav Bhardwaj

Abhinav Bhardwaj Hindu College, University of Delhi

Abstract

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre has had a significant and noteworthy presence in cultural memory and imagination, ever since its publication in the nineteenth century, while the reception of the novel has differed across different temporal contexts. The preponderance of the novel in cultural imagination has led to the writing of a considerable number of inspired works, and as some scholars argue, one can discern traces of Jane Eyre in works that do not explicitly establish a literary lineage with the Victorian classic. This paper explores the latter kind of literary nexus with respect to the works of Margaret Atwood.

Keywords: Influence, dystopia, gender, culture, patriarchy.

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Author Biography

Abhinav Bhardwaj, Hindu College, University of Delhi

Abhinav Bhardwaj studies English Literature at Hindu College, University of Delhi and is also a published poet, having made it to the longlist of the national Wingword Poetry Competition in 2018. His research interests include British Poetry and Drama, British Literature, Postcolonial Studies, Indian Writing in English, Queer Literature, American Literature and Graphic Narratives.

References

1. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Novy Kapadia, New Delhi, Worldview Publications, 2016.
2. Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. London, Vintage Books, 1996.
3. Atwood, Margaret. Alias Grace. New York, Rosetta Books, 2003.
4. Sasame, Kiyomi. Food for Survival in Margaret Atwood's Dystopian Worlds. The Japanese Journal of American Studies, No. 21 (2010), 2010.
5. Bean, Emmanuela Ann. Jane Eyre: An Ancestor Heroine for Contemporary Young Adult Dystopian Literature. Otterbein University, 2015.
6. McWilliams, Ellen. Margaret Atwood and the Female Bildungsroman. London, Routledge, 2017.