The Edible Woman

E20040

The Edible Woman is Margaret Atwood’s debut novel, a darkly comic feminist work that explores identity, consumerism, and the pressures of gender roles through a young woman’s psychological unraveling.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf literary work
novel
author Margaret Atwood
countryOfOrigin Canada
firstEditionFormat print
genre comic novel
feminist fiction
psychological fiction
satirical novel
hasAdaptation radio adaptation
hasCharacter Ainsley
Clara
Duncan
Peter
hasISBN 9780771099510
hasSubject advertising industry
women office workers
includedIn Canadian literature canon
literaryForm prose
literaryMovement second-wave feminism
literarySignificance Margaret Atwood's debut novel
mainCharacter Marian McAlpin
narrativePerspective first-person
third-person
notableFor early exploration of feminist themes in Canadian literature
originalLanguage English
plotElement creation of a woman-shaped cake
engagement to Peter
protagonist develops inability to eat
protagonistGender female
publicationYear 1969
publisher McClelland and Stewart
setInCity Toronto
setInCountry Canada
setInPeriod 1960s
structure multi-part narrative
symbolism edible woman cake as selfhood
food as representation of consumption
theme alienation
body image
consumerism
consumption and food
engagement and commitment
female identity
gender roles
marriage
objectification of women
patriarchy
psychological breakdown

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Margaret Atwood notableWork The Edible Woman
Surfacing precededBy The Edible Woman