“Within every dystopia there is a little utopia”: The Principles of Dystopian Fiction through the Work of Margaret Atwood

Abstract

In 2017 the New Yorker defined writer Margaret Atwood as the "prophet of dystopia", a woman whose catastrophic visions became true. Atwood not only envisioned a near-future full of corrupt values, destroying forces and broken souls; she also left a textual testimony of it through her dystopian novels. Nevertheless, Atwood's own voice did not take long to be heard: 'I am not a prophet. Science fiction is really about now' (Allardice, 2018). The following BA thesis aims to first examine the convetions of dystopian fiction, which often departs from cynical readings by questioning the foundations of contemporary societies in order to imagine the worts possible -or impossible- versions of them. Thus, even though dystopias oppose utopias, they also mirror them, signalling ways in which our future could be if the present is not changed. Regarding the methodology, Margaret Atwood's work will be the study focal point: particular attention will be paid to her portrayal of interpersonal relationships as well as to human behaviour towards other living beings and the environment. In addition to this, the corruption of humanity and its effects will be discussed and extrapolated from a literary perspective to reality: To this end, this dissertation will also inspect the postulates of the "clifi" genre and the applications of radical posthuman philosophy, among others. Finally, conclusions will also consider Atwood's employement of literary resources, such as humour or complex metaphors to adress her readership.