The Politics of Ventriloquism

“The Politics of Ventriloquism” in Various Atwoods, Lorraine York, ed. Toronto: Anansi, April 1995, pp. 207-228

12 Pages Posted: 1 Feb 2016

Date Written: January 29, 1995

Abstract

I have a confession to make: I feel as though I know some of Margaret Atwood's fictional characters pretty well. I know how they think, what they value. Of course, I know this intimacy is mere illusion, a function of artistic contrivance and rhetorical skill. In fact, Atwood's narrators are quick to point this out. So I should read the novels differently. But I don't. In this essay I suggest that the confessional tradition provides a model for analysing something that is central to Atwood's oeuvre: not truth itself (Atwood would strongly deny such an essentialist assumption), but rather the dynamics of truth-telling. Consequently, I focus not on the confession -- what is said, how accurate or truthful it is, but rather on the confessional act -- how it is signaled and to what effect. More specifically, I propose two ways of reconciling the seemingly contradictory impulses in Margaret Atwood's work: the way it enacts its fascination with the nature and politics of disclosure, inviting the reader to play the role of confidante or confessor and, at the same time, draws attention to its own duplicity. By outlining two rhetorical figures which signal the confessional communication in Atwood's oeuvre, I argue that confession is a rhetorical and ethical strategy rather than a category of literature.

Suggested Citation

Cooke, Nathalie, The Politics of Ventriloquism (January 29, 1995). “The Politics of Ventriloquism” in Various Atwoods, Lorraine York, ed. Toronto: Anansi, April 1995, pp. 207-228, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2724769

Nathalie Cooke (Contact Author)

McGill University ( email )

Arts Building
853 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, Quebec QC H3A 0G4
Canada
5143984400 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.mcgill.ca/english/staff/nathalie-m-cooke

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