Canada Portrait Of A Woman Analysis

The literary device of symbolism is used here to conform one of the roles for women in this patriarchal society or else, they are left as outsiders in society. After Grace gets the job to work as a house servant for Mrs. Alderman Parkinson, she meets Mary Whitney who influences Grace to follow the roles of women in order for her to have a positive life as a woman, instead of becoming an outsider:
I should remember that we were not slaves, and being a servant was not a thing we were born to…it was just a job of work. She said it was the custom for young girls in this country to hire themselves out, in order to earn the money for their dowries; and then they would marry, and if their husbands prospered they would soon be hiring their own servants in their turn…one day I would be the mistress of a tidy farmhouse, and independent. (Atwood 157-158).
Here, Mary encourages Grace that being a servant is not a bad thing, as it symbolizes one of the roles for women to conform in this patriarchal society and by following this role, positive things will happen in the future.
This shows that Mary is willing to follow the roles of women and she ensures Grace conforms the role of being a servant so she does not become an outsider if she decides to try out new roles. In Canada, working as a domestic servant in the nineteenth century was a popular job for women and The Canadian Encyclopedia looks at women going into the domestic work force during that time period:
Domestic service became a distinctively female occupation in Canada during the 19th century…by the late 19th century over 90% of Canadian servants were female. Domestic service was the most common paid employment for Canadian women before 1900: in 1891 there were nearly 80 000 women servants in Canada. (The Canadian
Encyclopedia).
With the statistics showing that 90% of Canadian servants were female and it was the most common paid employment in Canada, this shows the majority of women were willing to conform their roles to earn the respect and independence they need later on in life as they do not want to become outsiders to society. During the same timeline in the novel, Mary and Grace was one of 90% servants who were female and while Mary wants to follow her role as a servant, she ensures Grace also conform her role of being a servant as that is what women must do in this patriarchal society. Thus, the literary device of symbolism is used the symbolize the role of a servant as it is a role that women must conform in society or else they will become outsiders to society and will want the respect and independence they need.
In conclusion, Margaret Atwood’s novel Alias Grace conveys the truth that in patriarchal societies, women are forced to conform certain types of roles as rejecting these roles creates conflicts between genders, resulting in women becoming outsiders in society. Atwood uses the literary device of metaphor, oxymoron, repetition and symbolism, the narrative convention of character, as well as the feminist theory to demonstrate women either conforming roles or challenging these roles. The nineteenth century was a time where women did not have many rights and new roles to try out, but society has changed today in the twenty-first century as most women have equal rights and have the chance to try out new roles if they choose to while they have a sense of belonging in society.