The Reading Room: Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

Cat’s Eye, the seventh novel by the reverend Margaret Atwood, is largely considered her most autobiographical work. And yet, no one could mistake its universal themes: that of female friendships and how quickly they can turn cruel. On the surface are two best friends, drawn together from an early age, but roles are established and then reversed: that of the bully and the victim caught in a web. The novel had its 30th anniversary in 2019 and it remains among the very best of her work.

The book:

Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood

Publication:

September 1988

Why it should be read:

I read this book as a young teen, and even now as an adult, I cannot forget the pain that Elaine Risley, the daughter of a forest entomologist and controversial artist in her fifties, endured as a young girl.

In her moment of professional glory, she returns to Toronto for a retrospective of her work, becoming consumed by vivid images of her past, especially those of Cordelia, the best friend who tormented her. In an unsettled, messed-up childhood, it all starts early, Cordelia becomes the instigator of Elaine’s pain from 10 years old. Cordelia constantly monitors her, demanding even the minute details from what’s in her pockets.

She goes further, enlisting accomplices, Grace and Carol, ensuring they report back on her behaviour. In everything, in every way, Cordelia finds fault in Elaine. To add to the scrutiny of others, she’s made to scrutinise herself. Cordelia tells her to look at herself, voice filled with disgust, in a mirror she brings to school. Notably, it’s in this that Elaine realises that all women are ultimately judged in this way.

A traumatic incident sees Elaine eventually breakaway, but the two will continue to meet, in high school – where the tables turn, the power redistributed as Elaine becomes a sharpened girl with a “mean mouth” – then as adults, with Cordelia at the mercy of Elaine.

Atwood's vivid depiction of the often intense rituals of female friendship has yet to be bettered, in this writer’s opinion. It’s two-fold, both disorienting and painful when the proverbial mean girl happens to be your best friend. We all know an Elaine. We’ve all met a Cordelia. The author’s tale of toxic friendships from 30 years ago is as relevant as ever in 2020.

Jennifer McShane, August 2020.