Essay: Margaret Atwood’s 21st-century metafictive novel Hag-Seed (2016)

Composers overtime continue to focus their texts on humanity’s flaws to reveal the evil of man. The idea of humanity being easily manipulated and tempted to commit evil is collectively explored by both composers in their textual conversations. Margaret Atwood’s 21st-century metafictive novel Hag-Seed (2016) crafts a textual conversation with William Shakespeare’s Jacobean pastoral play The Tempest (1611), engaging audiences with a modern-day criticism of humanity’s obsession with power, reframing revenge for a contemporary audience. Atwood continues Shakespeare’s focus on humanity’s flaws through the textual conversation linking the texts. Atwood’s characterisation reimagines these ideas for a modern audience, portraying them in a new light whilst offering a different perspective on how hubris can leads individuals to be misled and coerced into vile actions. It is in this way that Atwood amplifies Shakespeare’s message unveiling the truth of humanity’s flawed, thirst for power, shaping the meaning for her modern audience through the textual conversation reflecting resonate and disparate ideas.
The resonating theme of an individual’s hubris is utilised by both composers as a means to portray how power exposes the flaws of humanity, irrespective of their contextual time period. Atwood draws influence from Shakespeare’s Jacobean era where social hierarchy was governed with respect to the Great Chain of Being, following the Christian Humanist belief that God controls all things and that the king was ordained by God, and served as his representative on earth. As such, she reframes the idea of hierarchical power to become relevant for the secular 21st century, establishing hierarchy through the workplace, portraying the power that comes with seniority hierarchal. Both texts reflect common ideas of the malevolent nature of power and how it can easily bewitch the human mind and corrupt and compel individuals into wicked deeds. In Hag-Seed, Felix metathetically asserts he is the “star of the show” characterising him to be arrogant and overly confident in classifying himself as a ‘star’, symbolic of his nature and highlights how he uses his position of power to dominate over the other characters. This ironically leads to his downfall and removal from the play. Atwood mirrors Shakespeare as Prospero considers himself “a prince of power”. This metaphor reveals his hubris as it portrays his ambitious and self-absorbed nature which ultimately requires him to self-reflect, leading to transformation. Atwood continues Shakespeare’s focus on humanity’s flaws, aligning her characterisation of Felix with Prospero, connecting texts through the characters’ hubris which, regardless of context, highlights how humans are quickly seduced and manipulated by power, leading them down sinful and immoral paths.
Atwood further accentuates Shakespeare’s focus on humanity’s flaws through the resonating theme of ambition and the relentless pursuit of power and how this greed tempts individuals into wrongdoing. In her novel, Atwood seeks to mirror Shakespeare’s characterisation in her textual conversation, bringing to light the transcending disregard for the downfall of others, reflecting humanity’s flaws. Her character, Tony, encapsulates her criticism of modern society in the 21st century as individuals are willing to overstep moral boundaries. This aligns with Shakespeare’s characterisation of Antonio, a prospect of self-determination emerging from the rapidly manifesting ideas of Renaissance Humanism undermining the principles of the Great Chain of Being. Atwood’s use of lucid language “When someone gets in my way,…I just remove them” highlights Tony’s Machiavellian instincts to manipulate Sebert into committing evil for the pursuit of power, mirroring those of Antonio; acting with no regard for morality or conscience, resonating with the flawed nature of humanity. Similarly, Antonio delights in his ability to manipulate and fool others, evident in his soliloquy “O, that I bore/ The mind that I do” which emphasises his disregard for the Divine Rights of Kings through his Machiavellian instincts, tempting him to commit evil. Additionally, Shakespeare further demonstrates Antonio’s selfish motivations which challenge contextual Christian values in the prophetic metaphor, “My strong imagination sees a crown/ Dropping upon thy head…”. The metonymy of “crown” highlights his egotistic fixation on power, tempting his commitment of evil. Both composers connect through the combination of the pursuit of power with Machiavellian instincts, revealing how individuals can be manipulated and tempted into committing evil actions displaying that regardless of the contextual differences, humanity remains flawed.
The frailties of human nature are further explored through the common issue of desire for revenge. Both composers give similar perspectives on how humanity can easily be manipulated into committing evil. Atwood mirrors Shakespeare’s characterisation of Prospero through Felix, reframing his thirst for vengeance to avenge his lost command. Atwood structures her novel to align with the original plotline of Shakespeare’s play. Both texts explore how the power delegated to individuals through Atwood’s contemporary workplace hierarchy or the feudal system in the Jacobean era, can establish an obsession amongst individuals, especially once it is taken away. Both composers structure their plots into five parts, providing responders with access to the subconscious thoughts of protagonists as they manifest the implications of their respective usurpations. Atwood reflects Felix’s desire for revenge, spurred by Tony’s betrayal in the metaphoric imagery, “Suddenly revenge is so close he can actually taste it. It tastes like steak, rare.” The metaphor, comparing his desire for revenge to the taste of a steak engages contemporary audiences with a modern-day perspective of the ‘taste of revenge’. This aligns with Shakespeare’s Prospero who aims to avenge the loss of his dukedom at the hands of his brother and becomes fixated on seeking revenge and regaining power, “These, mine enemies, are all knit up”. Shakespeare uses a symbolic web of illusion to reveal Prospero has “knit” together his plan for vengeance, revealing his manipulative nature as a result of his obsession with revenge. Both composers portray to the concept of man’s obsession with revenge because of betrayal and loss of power which leads individuals into committing evil, connecting responders through man’s flawed nature in the textual conversation.
In light of the above, Atwood’s textual conversation continues Shakespeare’s focus on how humanity can all too easily be manipulated and tempted to commit evil deeds due to a greed for power. The resonating theme of hubris connects both texts through the aligning characterisation of Felix and Prospero reflecting how power exposes humanity’s greatest flaws. Both composers also establish Machiavellian characters whose ambition engages with their respected audience and reveals their sinister nature. Finally, the texts explain how battle for influence can lead to an obsession with revenge which easily tempts the weak minded nature of humanity into committing evil. In this way, Atwood reaffirms the importance of Shakespeare’s timeless message that will continue to echo in our society for years to come.