Margaret Atwood's Surfacing and Gemma Corradi Fiumara's Theory of Language and Metaphor

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is identifying and commenting upon the most significant metaphors concerning the characters of Margaret Atwood's second novel, Surfacing (1972). Atwood’s employment of metaphors will be looked at through the lens Gemma Corradi Fiumara presents in her 1995 text The Metaphoric Process. Connections between language and life. Corradi Fiumara’s theoretical framework sees metaphor not only as a linguistic tool, but as a psychological instrument shaping our understanding of the world, and the way we interact with the people whom we come into contact with. As the events are told through the perspective of a first-person narrator, the metaphors utilized to describe the characters’ actions, thoughts and inner worlds are the result of the narrator’s perception of them. Consequently, metaphors are arbitrarily appointed to secondary characters creating a narrative that is entirely driven by the protagonist. Hitherto, the metaphors analyzed throughout this work will be those concerning the protagonist herself, Anna, David, Joe and the narrator’s parents. Furthermore, as the narration takes place in the Canadian wilderness, the natural theme is extremely relevant and metaphors are built around nature as well. The protagonist’s relationship with nature will, consequently, impact her psychological insight regarding the events she is living and the people around her.