Myth as the foundation of the narrative in the works of Margaret Atwood.

The subject of this research is the works of the famous contemporary Canadian writer Margaret Atwood. The object of the study is their narrative structure. The author of the article characterizes Atwood's narratives as life-descriptive narratives, in which the narrator occupies a central position. The narrator in Atwood's works is usually also the main character. Atwood's texts create a total space for her narrators. One of the foundations for creating a narrative in Atwood's work is myth. Atwood uses ancient Greek, European, and indigenous myths to construct plots. This variety reflects the young Canadian identity, which Atwood herself compares to the mentality of "settlers." In her work with mythological plots, Atwood willingly blends myths of different origins. Drawing on the contributions of both domestic and foreign researchers of Atwood's legacy, as well as Atwood's own literary works, the author of the article describes the place of myth in the structure of Atwood's retrospective, life-descriptive narratives. Narrative, cultural-historical, and cultural-social methods are utilized. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that the author conducts a sequential, in-depth analysis of Atwood's overall approach to myth, whereas most studies on this topic typically focus on how Atwood engages with a specific mythological plot. The author divides Atwood's work with myth into four levels, depending on how heavily Atwood relies on the mythological plot when constructing her own narrative. Thus, Atwood may use myth as the meaning-generating foundation for the entire plot — the first level. Alternatively, Atwood may use an ancient plot to describe national color — the second level. Sometimes myth serves Atwood to discuss the stereotypes of contemporary society — the third level; or to talk about the principles of art — the fourth level.

Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood, narrative, myth, speculative fiction, Northrop Frye, Joseph Campbell, storytelling, Canadian Identity, postmodernism