Lusus Naturae Margaret Atwood: Identity, Rejection, and Acceptance

Introduction

“Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood is a dark, evocative story about a young female human/monster-looking thing. The protagonist or narrator is reproached by her own family due to her obvious condition. The story seems to take place during the mid-1800s in a rural town. I inferred this due to the descriptions of the character’s clothing, as well as the visit the family had with the girl to the town’s doctor.

Body

Identity Struggles and Internal Conflict

The story engaged my attention with the descriptive conflict, plot, and underlying theme that’s relevant to society.

It gives a sense of curiosity about how this “thing” or “creature” might’ve looked, knowing how embarrassed the family felt and spoke of this creature. This story made me feel sorrow for the girl; it made me think in general about how some parents and society reproach their children or those who look different. I think the story’s underlying message or theme is learning to accept ourselves as we are. In other words, the protagonist in this story puts her family’s feelings over her own at the beginning and later learns to accept her condition and appearance.

In addition, the protagonist’s identity is belittled, seen as a “lusus naturae” or “freak of nature.” In the first paragraph of the story, we can tell that the character experiences internal conflict, “What could be done with me, what should be done with me?” she’d question. She wasn’t happy with who she was. Her family’s reproaches and rejections made her question her humanity, as she says in paragraph 25, “I was a thing…In what way is a thing, not a person?” Her family continuously made her feel disgusted and discomfort with herself. They expressed the shame they felt for having such a “terrifying” monster-looking daughter. How can you love yourself if your own family doesn’t? Your family influences your values, and this poor girl wasn’t being taught to value herself for who she was. The plot is described through past timing. The narrator uses words such as, “My grandmother died, then my father. The cat became elderly.” (paragraph 24) and “through the years..” (paragraph 34). I could tell time had passed throughout the different settings of the story—as told.

Narrative Techniques and Impact

Furthermore, the story contained a climax that made me want to continue reading, giving me a sense of frightened to know what would happen next. For instance, “The twittering voices…it’s time for me to take flight. I’ll fall from the burning rooftop like a comet, I’ll blaze like a bonfire.” (paragraph 39). This feeling she had made me think that she was going to do something carelessly, like ending her life. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did because all the neglect and lack of love she got from her family could make her feel depressed and unwanted, leading to self-harm. The turning point in her life was noticeable when she decided to become visible to the town and choose her own fate rather than letting others do it for her. There are a variety of ways the story could be interpreted. Two of the many underlying messages or themes I got out of the story were rejection and acceptance. As we noticed at the beginning of the story, the protagonist is rejected by her own family due to her appearance. They refused to accept her condition and how she was; rather, they made her feel less of a person, which led to her death. Many times in society, we see this neglect from parents or families to their own children causing further consequences. I feel like this neglect from the parents or families to their children is a major cause of self-harm, something so terrible someone can do to themselves. This theme is also common among societies; when people are different or don’t fit within certain norms or communities, they’re considered “freaks.” Society stratifies people among it, excluding those who are not considered “normal.”

Conclusion

Overall, Margaret Atwood was very descriptive throughout her story. It allowed me to experience every moment through her eyes as she narrated. The story was written in first person, which allowed me to intrigue myself, wanting to find out more. I think this story’s purpose was to illustrate and narrate the life of a female, young girl who was rejected by her own family but learned to accept herself at last and grow into her own person. This story can imply real-life events that casually happen among societies within families.

Works Cited

1. Atwood, Margaret. “Lusus Naturae.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, edited by Kelly J. Mays, shorter 12th ed., W. W. Norton, 2017, pp. 262-266.

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