This quotation could easily be the main character of my books dying words. With the constant misleading conceptions of humanity today, it is difficult to be one=s self and still be respected by the community and not isolated for being an individual. Mentally, the impact of society=s presumptions can be costly and frightful, not to mention cause a lot of damage. In my novel, The Edible Women the main character, Marian, is confronted with the mental impact and control the world around really has. Humanity, is such, that it pressures Marian to feel that her major role in life is to marry, remain domesticated, and procreate. The increasing pressure to conform to societies stereotypes of women are causing Marian to feel that piece by piece, she is being consumed. Because Marian feels as though society is consuming her, she cannot herself consume what she feels has an equal right to life as she does. In Margaret Atwood=s The Edible Women, Marian McAlpine is confronted with society=s!

stereotypes of a women. It is Marian=s rejection of these clichés which cause her to feel as though she is being consumed, resulting in her inability to consume other living organisms.

The increasing pressure to conform to societies stereotypers of women are causing Marian to feel that piece by piece, she is being consumed. Marian reveals she fells like society is consuming her through dreams, symbolic images of herself, and illusions set up in her mind. The morning after Marian had been confronted by Joe=s uncultivated perception that A . . . unmarried girls . . . @ (34) are in need of A . . . protection . . . . @ (34), and Ainsley=s belief that AEvery woman should have at least one baby.@ (41), Marian had a disturbing dream that she was beginning to dissolve. The imagery used to describe Marian=s feelings imply that she is being eaten, specifically the word dissolve, like saliva dissolves cotton candy in someone=s mouth. Marian feels as though she is being consumed, or vanishing, because without living up to societies expectation of a woman, nobody notices her. When it was announced that she had become engaged at the office Christmas party, the ladies wanted to ask her questions, but prior to this event, only the office virgins - her office friends - spoke to her. Furthermore, symbolism is used to show how Marian feels as though she is being consumed. While out to dinner with Peter one evening, Marian sees A . . . a small silvery image reflected in the bowl of the spoon; herself upside down . . . . @ (169). Marian seeing herself in her spoon would enable her to lift her spoon and eat herself, creating the significance of her image in the spoon. Marian feels society if consuming her, but the reference to her image being A . . . upside down . . . . @ (169) suggests she is starting to not recognize herself as she is losing sight of her identity. Lastly, as Marian is bathing in preparation for her engagement party, she notices her body was A . . .no longer quite her own.@ (256) and worried A . . . she was dissolving, coming apart layer by layer.@ (256). Marian is nearing the stage of the novel where she felt humanity has entirely consumed her. Imagery reveals not only the complete dissolving of her identity in someone=s mouth, but the image of a child picking apart a pastry layer by layer. Through subconscious and conscious incidents, Marian displays how she feels society=s pressure for her to conform to their norms, makes her feel as though she is being consumed.

Humanity is such that it pressures Marian to feel that her major role in life is to marry, remain domesticated, and procreate. Marian is programmed into believing that to become a valued member of society, she must obtain a male protector, not rely on any post-secondary education, and embrace motherhood. Marian=s friend Joe assumes that A . . . all unmarried girls are easily victimized and needing protection.@ (34) of a strong male influence. By Joe=s presumption that women are in need of a male protector, indicates that females are perceived as the weaker sex. In order to be accepted as a woman, Marian is manipulated into conforming to societal norms by the subliminal messages bestowed upon her by the community at large. Later on, Marian was out completing beer surveys for her job at Seymor Services; a market research company. When one particular interview was concluding the marrie

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