Reading hidden layers: A genetic analysis of the drafts of Margaret Atwood's novels 'The Edible Woman' and 'Bodily Harm'

Margaret Atwood's creative technique as a novelist is the subject of this thesis, which considers two of her novels, the Edible Woman (1969) and Bodily Harm (1981). The dissertation investigates Atwood's process of writing, from the earliest extant drafts of the novels to the final, published product. Genetic criticism, the methodology applied in analysing the manuscript material, studies textual versions without privileging a "best" or definitive version. This methodology traces the creative process by reviewing all draft materials pertaining to a work in order to establish a genetic dossier.; The analysis presented in the thesis is based on manuscript materials collected in the Margaret Atwood Papers at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. The materials in this collection have never been used for any systematic, extended study of Atwood's creative technique.; A comparison of Atwood's first published novel, The Edible Woman with Bodily Harm clearly demonstrates contrasting techniques of composition. The thesis contains a genetic dossier for each novel, cataloguing all materials relevant to their creation and in each case establishing their chronological sequence.; The genetic dossier for The Edible Woman is followed by a chapter which demonstrates Atwood's systematic removal of material from this text so as to create narrative gaps which the audience is expected to fill. The chapter documents Atwood's manipulation of characters' names, shows how Marian's fear and her own insights into her emotional state disappear from the drafts, and reveals how relationships between Marian and other key characters are reconfigured.; In contrast, the analysis of Bodily Harm shows how Atwood composes her 1981 novel by constantly adding material, creating a dense web of motivic structures for readers to investigate. In analysing this novel's construction through accretion, key events are highlighted through the use of title and setting, the structural changes within the novel's first section, and the novel's ending.; Despite the numerous collections of contemporary literary manuscripts in Canada, this analytical tool has rarely been used. The study contributes to Canadian literary criticism by offering new insights into the interpretation of the two novels, and a new methodology transferable to the exploration of other collections.