Southern Ontario Gothic in Selected Novels by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood is one of Canadäs most celebrated writers today. Her Southern Ontario Gothic writing represents a fusion of traditional Gothic and Southern Ontario Gothic, which is a Canadian tradition in writing. This study shows how Southern Ontario Gothic is a typical Atwoodian characteristic that plays a significant role in crystallizing the Canadian quest for identity. Atwood's Southern Ontario Gothic novels usually feature a female protagonist who is traumatized and entrapped by her inner fears, and, thus, goes through a journey of atonement and self-discovery. Psychoanalytical theories and concepts are resorted to throughout the study to help probe into the psyche of Atwood¿s female protagonists on one hand, and to fathom the relationship between some Gothic features and the Canadian identity on the other.