Bodily Harm (novel)

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Bodily Harm
BodilyHarm.JPG
First edition cover
Author Margaret Atwood
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Publisher McClelland & Stewart
Publication date
1981
Media typePrint (Hardcover, Paperback)
ISBN 0-7704-2256-X (first edition)
OCLC 257154527
Preceded by Life Before Man  
Followed by The Handmaid's Tale  

Bodily Harm is a novel by Margaret Atwood. It was first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1981.

Contents

Plot introduction

The novel's protagonist Rennie Wilford is a travel reporter. After surviving breast cancer, she travels to the fictional Caribbean island St. Antoine to carry out research for an article. The island, however, is on the brink of revolution. Rennie tries to stay away from politics, but is drawn into events through her romance with Paul, a key player in the uprising, and ends up in a survival struggle.

Themes

A major theme of Bodily Harm is power.

As in many of the heroines of Atwood's novels, Rennie is addicted to negative relationships. She feels "hooked like a junkie" to her relationship with Jake, and becomes unable to distinguish between sadomasochism and genuine aggression. [1]

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References

  1. Howells, Coral Ann (2006). The Cambridge Companion to Margaret Atwood . Cambridge Companions to Literature. Cambridge University Press. pp.  46–50. ISBN   978-0-521-83966-2.