Poetic Feminism

Back to Myth Index

Holly Tammens

Women’s rights have come a long way in the past 100 years; nonetheless, it is no secret that women are still subject to gender prejudice in society. Women are equal in intelligence to men; however, women are still shockingly paid less than men, and are often victims of physical and mental abuse from tyrannical men. Margaret Atwood is a well-known feminist author who often writes about the oppression of women in society. In her mysterious poem “This is a Photograph of Me,” Atwood utilizes several aspects of nature observed in a photograph to symbolize the dominance of men over women in our oppressive society. She demands society as a whole to see through the stereotypes placed on women and observe the true importance and significance women have in history and our present lives.


Atwood’s melancholy poem begins with a woman describing an old blurry photograph of a woodsy landscape with a house, a lake, a tree branch and a small hill. The woman seems as if she is viewing the photo for the first time as she points out the significant aspects of the photograph that have been distorted from either overexposure or the sunlight reflecting off the lake. The second half of the poem reveals that the photograph was taken shortly after the woman drowned in the lake. The woman informs the reader that if they look closely they will see her submerged beneath the water. The poem is rich with symbolism in its content and structure.

Atwood employs a great deal of symbolism in her poem to express the theme of female oppression. This symbolism is perceived in the blurriness of the photograph, the tree branch, the slope, the house, the lake, and the reflected light off of the lake. The distortion of the images in the photograph represents the negative labels put on women. We have to look past this distortion to see what the images are, or to observe the real essence and importance of women. Everything in the picture, literally and symbolically, is affected by the photograph’s distortion. The small hill that “ought to be a gentle/ slope” (11-12), represents the challenges women have in overcoming female prejudice. This challenge should be effortless, but it is instead an arduous climb. The small frame house symbolizes women as a whole and women’s place in society. Generally, women are physically smaller than men, and they are often viewed as the weaker gender. Also, the home is commonly observed as a woman’s place in society instead of solving problems in the workforce. The emerging tree branch signifies the many problems or difficulties behind the unfair treatment of women. A single tree branch has one main branch with many equally significant smaller branches stemming from the main branch. There is one main problem with society’s negative views on women and many other difficulties emerging from the main problem. The woman in the poem is hidden beneath the water of the lake; her spirit and voice are veiled by the lake’s water: “The effects of water / on light is a distortion” (22-23). The water portrays society’s male dominance that is warping the true voice of women represented as the light reflected off the water. Atwood urges us to look past the distortions of prejudice and see the true images or profound significance of women in our society.

Atwood also strategically places parentheses in the text to separate the poem into two halves. In the first half, she describes a landscape photograph that has been distorted for some unknown reason. The reader can assume that the photo is black and white and therefore very old, because it is described with “blurred lines and gray flecks” (4). The black and white photograph represents a time in history when prejudice against women was astoundingly prevalent. The second half of the poem is completely enclosed by parentheses. This is the section where she reveals herself as the heart and subject of the photograph. The existence of parentheses often indicates that the contents inside of them are not as important as the regular text. By using parentheses in the description of the woman’s spirit, Atwood is demonstrating how women are often viewed as insignificant. The poem is clearly divided into two halves with the description of the landscape in the first half, and the existence of the woman’s essence in the second half.

The lake in Atwood’s poem could also be connected with a powerful symbol of femininity. The art of symbolism portrays water as strongly feminine; in addition, water that emerges from the earth is interpreted as a gift from the womb of Mother Nature. This is reminiscent of Atwood’s image of the lake; generally, natural lakes are born from flowing springs that are from the earth. The beginning of all life occurs within the “water” of the female womb. Therefore, the lake may represent the female womb or birth of life, and the submerged woman may symbolize women’s strong voice and true nature that is eagerly prepared to be born into a male-dominated world. The striking connection of water to the female spirit is demonstrated through the gifted ability of women to nurture and produce life within the fluid of their uterus or womb. In Atwood’s poem, feminine power is ready to be born into a world of gender equality.

Atwood’s peculiar and strongly feministic poem is full of symbolism. The poem comes across as a morbid description of a photograph taken of a dead woman hidden underneath the lake she drowned in. Knowing that Margaret Atwood is a renowned feminist writer, leads me to believe that the poem’s symbolically hidden main theme is the oppression of women in a male-dominated society. The fact that the photograph is blurred, the aspects of the landscape, and the use of parentheses to divide the poem could be interpreted in various ways; however, the underlying theme is overwhelmingly feministic in nature.