Robber Bride Quotes

Shannon Ross

K. Miller

ENG4UI - P4

20 January, 2023

Selecting The Villain: A Patriarchal Bias

"You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur." - Margaret Atwood. This quote addresses the unconscious response of women to conform to the male gaze without their knowledge or consent. As a result, women monitor themselves constantly and treat others based on a patriarchal view they are often unaware they employ. Atwood's The Robber Bride similarly addresses this concern. Zenia, or the robber bride, is the novel's main antagonist who infiltrates the lives of the three main characters who narrate the story, Tony, Roz and Charis, and effectively steals their partners, money, and free will. Although these women have very

While actively conspiring against Zenia for her sinful actions, Tony, Charis, and Roz act as a support system to please their unfaithful, lying, and cheating partners. To begin, when West, Tony's husband, leaves her for Zenia, Tony immediately removes any of his blame from the situation, stating, "It's not West's fault, she wanted to say. It's [Zenia's]" (Atwood 236). Even though Tony is well aware Zenia did not coerce West into doing anything against his will, she still endures a year of grief without him before taking him back as soon as Zenia leaves. West receives no retribution for his actions, and the couple continues their marriage.

Furthermore, Billy, Charis's partner, beats her while she is pregnant in an attempt to kill their baby and then runs away with Zenia, whom Charis has been helping. Although Charis is aware Billy is cheating on her and that he is using her to avoid going to the war, it is Zenia, not Billy, whom she refers to as a "drinker of innocent blood" and an "aphid of the soul" (Atwood 366). At the same time, she creates a persona for Billy as someone who "died bravely fighting in the Vietnam War" (Atwood

Even though Zenia is manipulative, deceitful, and uncaring about whom she hurts, she ultimately understands her circumstance and uses what she has to survive and remain unharmed. Although Tony, Charis, and Roz, are seen are morally righteous, Zenia does not allow her life to be run by the male gaze as they do: "The Zenias of this world have studied this situation and turned it to their own advantage; they haven't let themselves be moulded into male fantasies, they've done it themselves" (Atwood 501). Zenia thereby ignores a stereotypical ideal of female goodness even as Tony, Charis, and Roz refuse to accept this as possible. In doing so, they allow Zenia into their lives, relationships, finances, and homes, only to be surprised when she repeats undesirable behaviours. Still, the three leading women can band together to forgive their men without question, yet not allow another woman to operate differently than they