The Landlady

“The Rest” by Margaret Atwood (1985)

The motif of physical boundaries is further employed in Atwood’s 1985 poem, “The Rest.” Here, the poet tells the story of a group of onlookers, who “watch from beyond the fence” (Line 1) as an afflicted woman struggles on the other side. While the helpless observers sympathize, they are unable to assist the woman. Atwood uses physical barriers like fences and “the trees and the grasses” (Lines 14-15) as well as intangible barriers like “language” (Lines 6-8) to reinforce the sense of separation between “us” and “her.” As in “The Landlady,” the poet uses sound to immerse the reader in the action: “we hear sounds but no language” (Lines 5-6), “explosions in mud” (Line 13), “call something out to her” (Lines 18-19), and “Some form of cheering” (Line 19). This creates tension as the reader is immersed in the sensory stimuli with the bystanders while sharing their lack of agency. The reader, like the “rest of us” (Line 1) wants desperately to help but is able only to witness the woman’s suffering; “There is pain but no arrival at anything” (Line 20).

“More and More” by Margaret Atwood (1968)

In her 1968 poem “More and More,” taken from the collection The Animals in That Country, Atwood explores gender, sex, love, and desire. Once more the author uses physical space and boundaries to reveal deep truths about intimate relationships. She expresses her desire to “assimilate with the world” (Line 3) as “More and more frequently the edges […] dissolve” (Lines 1-2), The motif of physical boundaries found in "The Landlady" continues as Atwood mentions osmosis (Stanzas 1 and 3), the object of her desire surrounding her (Line 10), and her hunger “drawing everything into its own space” (Line 20). Themes and motifs consistent throughout Atwood’s work are present: Boundaries are established and broken, the insubstantiality of the self is alluded to, and the desire to be more in tune with nature is highlighted.

“The Moment” by Margaret Atwood (1998)

The Moment explores the human desire for property and the misplaced sense of dominion over nature. The critical moment to which the title refers is when the speaker appears to have finally arrived, master of their “room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country” (Lines 3-4), claiming “I own this” (Line 65). However, the speaker is instantly disabused of this illusion as “the trees unloose their soft arms […] the birds take back their language […] the cliffs fissure and collapse” (Lines 7-10). Line 13, “No, they whisper. You own nothing,” echoes the speaker in “The Landlady” when she says “Nothing is mine” (Line 17). Through her poetry, Atwood explores perceived relationships between owners and possessions, both physical and conceptual, often breaking through this illusion and in doing so revealing more universal truths about the human experience.