ESC: English Studies in Canada

Abstract:

Editing Atwood’s juvenilia involved an examination of the diachronic and synchronic relationships between the juvenilia and Atwood’s other works. The diachronic analysis identified the image of a person observing a woman working with a knife as a recurrent figure in Atwood’s work. The synchronic approach placed the juvenilia in its historical context and thus expanded the editing process to include both textual analysis and biography, geography, and social history. For the student of English the chance to combine several disciplines and to work with an experienced scholar on all aspects of editing was the relatively rare opportunity that the Juvenilia Press provided.