Cat's eye, the ninth of Atwood's novels, is the story of Elaine Risley, a successful painter who returns to Toronto, the city of her childhood.
Most of the novel flashes back to her childhood and focuses on the relationships she had, particularly the relationship between herself and a girl named Cordelia. Cordelia and the other girls teased and tortured her so much that Elaine loses all her self self-esteem and adopts bad habits, such as peeling her skin, biting her nails, and pulling her own hair. Atwood also explores the world of artistic creativity for female artists. The book also gives the reader a clear picture of how much society and the landscape of Toronto had changed from her childhood memories in the 1940s and the 1950s to the Toronto she revisited in the 1980s. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - thoughtful Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Life of a profession: Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Job/Profession/Status story Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - none Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 () The Americas (not US): Yes City? Yes Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |