Bodies Under Power: Gender, Colonialism, and the Politics of Commodification in Margaret Atwood's The Edible Woman and Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves

Abstract The human body is not simply a biological entity; it is also a kind of space in which societies record cultural differences, hierarchies, and systems of power. By means of institutional and political rules, political arrangements, and social customs, the body is made to behave as per the dominant culture. Gender is especially influenced by patriarchal society which tells people how they should perform and express femininity and masculinity. Whenever people’s bodily experiences go against these established norms, the existing system starts social control. In settler-colonial societies, the bodies of Indigenous people take on extra political importance, since they become areas where racial discrimination, state power, and economic exploitation come together. Luce Irigaray criticises the patriarchal and economic systems which reduce women to commodity that can be exchanged, utilised, or are subjected to domination and restriction (Sexes and Genealogies 123). She also looks at the way patriarchal systems take over and control female and maternal identities, thus limiting women’s autonomy and strengthening the existing gender hierarchies (31). In a similar way, governmental policies can either safeguard marginalised groups by acknowledging their rights or contribute to their exclusion through discriminatory actions. Even though Margaret Atwood’s The Edible Woman (1969) and Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves (2017) are different in terms of genre, historical background, and cultural context, both the novels look at the way vulnerable bodies are exploited within powerful social systems. Atwood’s feminist novel studies the influence of consumer culture and patriarchal norms, showing how women’s bodies are judged and controlled by society. On the other hand, Dimaline’s Indigenous speculative novel depicts a dystopian society, in which Indigenous bodies are singled out because of their biological abilities, thus exposing the harmful effects of settler-colonial rule. By comparing these two works the paper will show how gendered and colonial structures reduce human bodies to objects that serve the interests of the dominant social, political, and economic systems. The comparison also brings to the surface the notion of bodily resistance, self-determination, and the recovery of identities that have been threatened by oppressive systems.