From Fiction to Forewarning: Climate Crisis and Narrative Flexibility in Atwood's MaddAddam Trilogy

The MaddAddam trilogy, one of the representative works by Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood, serves as the focus of this study. This paper aims to explore the organic integration of thematic and narrative features in MaddAddam trilogy from the perspectives of ecocriticism and contemporary narratology, as well as the literary impact resulting from this integration. The innovation of this research lies in its in-depth analysis of the trilogy, offering a comprehensive exploration from ecological and narrative viewpoints to move beyond the limitations of traditional thematic studies and the close-reading methods of New Criticism. This study seeks to combine thematic and narratological approaches, emphasizing Atwood’s portrayal of ecological themes such as future worldviews, disease, the abuse of cloning technology, and crises in humanity and politics. It also analyzes the flexible application of narrative techniques, including narrative focalization, free indirect discourse, and intertextuality. By doing so, the paper aims to reveal how Atwood employs innovative narrative strategies to express her profound ecological concerns and sound an urgent call for environmental protection to her readers.