Textual Conversations Essay

“Never again will a single story be told as though it is the only

one.”

To what extent is this statement true in the light of your exploration of

Textual Conversations? In your response, make close reference to the
pair of prescribed texts that you have studied in Module A.

To a significant extent, Atwood’s appropriated postmodern pastiche Hag-Seed reveals

that a single story can never again be told as though it is the only one, evident in her
pivotal reliance on textual conversation with Shakespeare’s 17th-century revenge
tragicomedy The Tempest to reveal enduring human values with contemporary
relevance. Shakespeare's The Tempest (1610) and Atwood’s Hag-Seed (2016) crucially
depend on each other in creating an enjoyment of reading as they explore Jacobean
colonialist and contemporary perspectives and assumptions regarding ‘the other,’ being
groups marginal to mainstream societies. Aligning in the value of humanism, these texts
also converse about the female ‘other’ from Jacobean to current contexts. As a reader
enjoying these “stories” with an acute awareness that they cannot be told “as though
they are the only ones,” I find that these contextually separated views regarding ‘the
other’ align and collide with contemporary relevance.

Aware of his Age of Discovery context, Shakespeare presents and subsequently

subverts stereotypical views of ‘the other,’ and Atwood - aware that her “single story”
will not be told alone - cleverly resonates this creation and subversion of stereotype in
Hag-Seed. During the 17th-century, inhabitants of newly discovered lands were
viewed as bestial, evident in Prospero referencing Caliban as a “devil, a born devil, on
whose nature / Nurture can never stick.” The repetition of “devil” and the contrast of
assonate diction “nature” against “nurture” represents and surreptitiously challenges
his context’s poor evaluation of the animalistic, inhuman ‘other’. In inextricable
textual conversation, Atwood resonates this representation in her context, critiquing
the Canadian government’s positioning of prisoners as ‘the other’ in providing
insufficient rehabilitative programs and treating them with inhumanity. The
disfavoured character of Sal embodies this perspective, saying “They’re animals…
They should all be in cages! They should all be fucking dead!” The beastial
comparisons accompanied by repeated exclamations and profanity creates an
aggressive tone as antagonist Sal portrays the stereotypical view of the imprisoned
‘other.’ Atwood’s awareness that her “story” can “never be told as though it is the only
one” is evident in her contemporary mirroring of Shakespeare’s presentation of ‘the
other’ stereotype, enhancing my personal understanding of enduring views of ‘the
other.’

Both Shakespeare and Atwood, in this textual conversation, soon disonate from these
stereotypical characterisations of ‘otherness.’ Shakespeare empowers Caliban with
eloquent speeches, including a description of his isle as “full of noises,/ Sounds, and
sweet airs, (...) a thousand twangling instruments/ Will hum (...) in dreaming (...)
that when I waked/ I cried to dream again.” His use of verse, exquisite auditory
imagery, sibilance and articulate reference to suffering through the dreaming
metaphor tells of refined, vulnerable humanness. Atwood aligns with this subversion
of the contextual norm in the prisoner 8Handz, who, during the reenactment of The
Tempest with unsuspecting politicians such as Sal, empathetically comments,
“They're scared shitless… Don’t you feel sorry for them?” The alliteration of “scared
shitless” followed by ellipses and soft question demonstrates the intensity of the
suffering which 8Handz is empathising with, allowing Atwood’s audience to reassess
the way they view the humanity of prisoners, just as Shakespeare allowed audiences
to reassess Caliban’s humanity. Through aligning with Shakespeare’s subversion of
his context’s values regarding ‘the other,’ Hag-Seed has revealed that stories can
“never again” be told in isolation by vitally allowing me to reevaluate my perspective
of ‘the other’ in my contemporary society.

Atwood, as metafictionality aware that Shakespeare adopts a humanist exploration of

female identity in his character Miranda, textually converse with this humanist
exploration in Hag-Seed. Within The Tempest, the female voice of Miranda embodies
the Renaissance woman, empathetically reacting to the suffering of Prospero’s enemies
in Act I by saying “O, the cry did knock against my very heart.” The personification of
the “cry” of suffering “knocking” against Miranda’s heart exemplifies her idealised
compassionate, humanist voice. Atwood’s text, aware it isn’t “the only one,” converses
with this portrayal of feminine identity, aligning the shared value of humanism in the
21st-century through the spirit of Felix’s deceased daughter, Miranda. Reminding Felix
of his humanity, she advises him that “The rarer action is/ In virtue than in
vengeance.” Through this intertextual reference to The Tempest, Atwood’s pastiche
links two contexts through a sensitive female voice. The alliteration of “virtue” and
“vengeance,” antithetical to each other, further demonstrates Miranda’s humanist
“virtue”, contrary to the “vengeance” of Felix. Through Atwood’s aligning with
Shakespeare’s human concerns regarding female identity, she highlights the
transcendence of values and the inability of her story to be told “as though it is the only
one.”

Shakespeare soon imbues his Miranda with a sense of agency, presenting her as a female
‘other’ within the Elizabethan patriarchal norms, and Atwood’s appropriation through a
feminist lens furthers Shakespeare’s progressiveness. Offering to take a pile of logs from
Ferdinand, Shakespearean Miranda calls “Pray give me that: I’ll carry it to the pile.”
Her assertive tone, imperative voice in “give me that,” and confidence to perform
demanding physical labour is antithetical to a ‘typical Renaissance women.’ In a
patriarchal society, where women were positioned as either Madonnas or whores,
Shakespeare’s characterization of Miranda as both Madonna, in compassion, and whore,
in her sexual agency, challenges the Jacobean context’s dominant values. Atwood
mirrors Shakespeare's progressiveness for her contemporary audience, which has seen
the development of women’s rights and feminism. In the chapter “Team Miranda,”
Atwood reimagines Miranda through Anne-Marie as she explains: “She’s a strong girl
(…) with one high kick she breaks Sebastian’s wrist (…) dislocated both of his scaly
Caliban arms.” The violent imagery evident in “breaks” and “dislocated” illustrates
Anne-Marie’s confidence in Miranda’s ‘post-play’ life, being ‘other’ to the customary
damsel Renaissance woman. As part of a contemporary audience that has been exposed
to campaigns such as ‘Me Too,’ which call for empowering female characterisation,
Atwood’s empowering characterisation of Miranda exemplifies Shakespeare’s
subversion of patriarchal female identity and has enhanced my ‘feminist’ reading of his
canonical text.

Through comparative study of Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Atwood’s Hag-Seed, it is

extensively evident that a “single story” losses crucial significance when it is told “as
though it is the only one.” Shakespeare’s The Tempest has voiced both stereotypical and
subversive perspectives of ‘the other’ and Atwood’s mirroring of these perspectives
within her pastiche Hag-Seed has revealed these enduring human concerns to me with
contemporary relevance. As a contemporary responder, this textual conversation has
truly shown to me that in our postmodern era, stories can never again be told in
isolation.