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Lusus Naturae By Margaret Atwood

838 Words4 Pages

You never know what is hiding outside in the dark, cold night. Probably bears, coyotes, and hypothermia- which is why monster stories were historically used to scare children away from things that could harm them. As the genre developed, societal fears crept into the narratives; creating gothic stories about lonely people in decrepit castles, monstrous men who creep in womens’ windows, terrifying women who seek out sex to enjoy it, and lesbians. Incidentally, these stories can be seen in a very different light when reexamined today. Margaret Atwoods’ short story “Lusus Naturae”, published in 2004, is an example of a story far enough removed from the original context to play on the traditional themes of a vampire story in a different light.“Lusus Naturae'' explores themes of isolation, otherness, sexual deviation, and subverts the typical story of vampirism through symbolism and first-person perspective. Symbolism is used to show the protagonists purity and sexual deviancy. The protagonist of “Lusus Naturae” is buried in white (Atwood, p. 260), confronted with sex (Atwood, p. 262), and she bites a man on the neck, intended as a kiss, in a black dress (Atwood, p. 262). This specific arc portrays the protagonist’s introduction to sexuality and the culture’s perception of it- most plainly seen in the symbolism of the different dress colors, …show more content…

Her presentation by the end of the story worsens beyond her yellow eyes, pink teeth, red fingernails, and hairiness (Atwood, p. 259) to a growling voice (Atwood, p. 261), smelling of old blood (Atwood, p. 260), and appearance so shocking that even the protagonist cannot recognize herself (Atwood, p. 261). These descriptions paint a picture of a monster but through the first person narration, we can understand the innocent intentions of the protagonist and empathize with her experience of being an

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Giving up everything is what The Poisonwood Bible is all about. Written by Barbara Kingsolver, a family of five moves to the Congo for missionary purposes. As the evangelical father makes the trip a living nightmare for the family, they grow into the ways of the Congo. Sacrificing basically their whole lives for their fathers religious purposes, the family breaks apart, all going their own ways. Kingsolver makes sure that every character gets a chance to tell their story as the live in the Congo.

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Monsters have always been perceived as creatures with petrifying characteristics. They are often described as dire, dreadful, and horrendous. An individual deemed as a monster by an entire community must have committed atrocious acts; however, the unnamed protagonist in Margaret Atwood’s short story “Lusus Naturae” was considered monstrous by the entire faction despite neither committing such acts. The protagonist, who’s suffering from an illness called porphyria, was disdained and classified as a monster merely because of her looks—her yellow eyes, pink teeth, red fingernails, and long dark sprouting hair around her chest and arms. Even though her outward appearance is comparably peculiar with respect to the appearance of typical humans, one cannot basically imply that she is a monster.

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