Lusus Naturae By Margaret Atwood

Jimena Fuentes

Donna Smith

English 1302

01 February 2023

The Theme of “Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood

There are images of a world where there are societies, or groups, of people that do not have the same experiences that everyone else has. “Lusus Naturae” is utilized to describe the event of a young, poor, ill girl, who is compelled by society and its extreme pressure to mature alone, while slowly turning more into a monster figure day by day. The theme I was able to uncover are societal standards and who the real monster in the story is. This story uses an influential somber tone/mode, imagery, and irony to explain how the character struggles to find her identity when others’ actions and opinions are not accepting of her.

In

She describes how it is as if she has always been this way and is only now just realizing that she is different from others, as they have destroyed all her meaningful relationships, leaving her feeling like an outcast. To begin with the narrator gives an ideal vision about the girl's appearance stating “...looking at my yellow eyes, my pink teeth, my red fingernails, the long, dark hair that was sprouting on my chest and arms.” (Atwood). Visual details were given to describe typical animals also being taunted by the characters rare appearance “There were guard dogs, but though they howled at me, they never attacked: they didn’t know what I was.” (Atwood). The author uses this quote "My mother sat in the kitchen and cried as if I really had died; even my sister managed to look glum. My father wore his black suit." (Atwood) which gives the image of the family’s setting and representation of their form of

The audience has figured out that the narrator was forced to doom because people in the village viewed her as a curse/monster without understanding her. Even though she tried to talk to them, their discrimination refused her. In short, society’s views on beauty control everyone’s way of life. However, looks cannot prove whether a person’s intention is pure or not. Although the narrator had a different outer appearance, she had a heart of gold. On the contrary, her family and society had quality appearance, but their behaviors and words toward her were like a cruel monster. “The monster” is the narrator’s family and society who marginalized