Document Type
Thesis
Publication Date
Spring 5-2016
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature | Literature in English, North America
Advisor
Madhu Mitra, English
Abstract
This thesis examines the intersectionality of age and gender in Margaret Atwood's The Stone Mattress. Atwood is well known for her speculative fiction, and she uses this style of storytelling to create futuristic worlds that easily mirror what our own future will look like. I find that Atwood's characters are marginalized in these worlds, not solely because of their age and gender, but because of the interdependency of age and gender. The fact that Atwood's societies rely so heavily on these discourses causes the characters unnecessary suffering and thus prevents them from living to their fullest potential. Because Atwood's world so closely mirrors our own, we must strive to understand how age and gender contribute to her social hierarchies so that we may better understand our own.
Recommended Citation
Krause, Makenzie, "Facing Our Future: An Examination of Age and Gender in Margaret Atwood's The Stone Mattress" (2016). All College Thesis Program, 2016-2019. 9.
https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/honors_thesis/9