Date of Award
2016
Document Type
Thesis
Publication Status
Version of Record
Submission Date
October 2026
Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]
McGuirk, Carol
Abstract
Much has been written about the effectiveness of speculative fiction, especially utopian works. In this thesis I will examine the source of fear in Margaret Artwood’s works The Handmaid’s Tale and Oryx and Crake using Sigmund Freud’s “The Uncanny” to illustrate the terror of doubles as they appear in the novels. The terror in The Handmaid’s Tale comes from the descriptions of distorted physical environments, while the horror in Oryx and Crake emanates from the familiar yet twisted animals and characters found inside the corporate compounds. Through the recognition of these doubles as uncanny, Atwood’s work moves readers to cognition and social action.
Extent
37 p.
Recommended Citation
Toulas, Rosemary, "The Terror of Utopia: Examining Doubles as the Source for Cognition in Margaret Atwood’s Fiction" (2016). Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2010 - 2019. 1597.
https://digitalcommons.fau.edu/etd_general_6/1597
Identifier
FA00004781
Comments
Includes bibliography.|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.