A Critical Analysis of Surfacing

The book A Critical Analysis of Surfacing: A Novel by Margaret Atwood as a whole, serves a remarkable metaphor for modern search for "authenticity and wholeness through rediscovery of the past. It is a complete, authentic and convincing statement on the quest motif. The novel begins with the nameless protagonist's quest for self and it ends with her becoming a wholistic, indivisible individual. The protagonist finally emerges as a new woman with determination not to submit and yield, but to face the reality of the world. Atwood's protagonist transcends victor/ victim dichotomy. She sheds her identity as a torturer as well tortured as she has now learnt the skill to cope with evil. Her journey has been indeed a journey from death to life, from disintegration to reintegration with society, from ignorance to knowledge, and from illusion to reality.