The Short Story “Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood’s Lusus Naturae explores societal tendencies to stigmatize and isolate individuals perceived as different. Through the protagonist, a girl suffering from porphyria, Atwood highlights themes of sexism, societal judgment, and rejection. Deprived of a name and reduced to a “thing,” the protagonist embodies how groupthink and negative bias strip individuals of their humanity. Even her family succumbs to societal pressure, showcasing the harsh consequences of nonconformity in a judgmental world.
References
Atwood, Margaret. “Lusus Naturae.” The Norton Introduction to Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2016, pp. 262-266.
Jones, Jennifer Lynn, and Brenda R. Weber. “Reality Moms, Real Monsters: Transmediated Continuity, Reality Celebrity, and the Female Grotesque.” Camera Obscura: A Journal of Feminism, Culture, And Media Studies, vol. 30.88, no. 1, 2015, pp. 11-40.
Tugend, Alina. “Praise is fleeting, but Brickbats we recall.” The New York Times, 2012.
Reference
StudyCorgi. (2025, January 4). The Short Story “Lusus Naturae” by Margaret Atwood. https://studycorgi.video/the-short-story-lusus-naturae-by-margaret-atwood/