Margaret Atwood's Death By Landscape

Regret is an inky thumb flipping through the book of life, staining each page as it goes. Death by Landscape, a short story written by Margaret Atwood, captures the epitome of this putrid emotion. The main character, Lois, is traumatized by the presumed suicide of her camp best friend, Lucy. Well into her old age, Lois collects artwork reminiscent of the scenes of her childhood summers, and ceaselessly relives the years, months, days, and moments leading up to her friend’s disappearance. She blames herself for Lucy’s death, and often loses sight of the present as she slips back into memories that play on repeat in her mind. Undoubtedly, Atwood’s clever use of time and tense in Death by Landscape reflects Lois’ underlying unhealthy relationship with the past. Atwood’s tale begins abruptly and is seemingly devoid of feeling. The reader is curtly informed of various facts of Lois’ life, such as the loss of her husband and absence of her sons, but the description of the present is far surpassed by the details provided regarding the past. This anomaly is further accentuated by Atwood’s use of third-person. The reader is fully disconnected from Lois, a mere observer, and the nature of the writing here suggests that she is also experiencing emotional detachment. The first time the reader truly sees into

She wonders, certainly not for the first time, “was there anything important, anything that would provide some sort of reason or clue to what happened next?” (Atwood, pg 34). Here is an admission of something the reader can guess at beforehand, Lois dwells in the past because she feels that someday everything will click into place and understanding will free her from the confines of her regret. Unfortunately, there are no answers lying in the recesses of her mind, and even if there were, rational thought is not always enough to combat persistent, irrational