“Death by Landscape”

            The wilderness settings of the northern forests are often a common theme for Canadian writers. In Margaret Atwood’s “Death by Landscape,” the setting of wilderness is one of the story’s most common themes. At the very beginning the main character, Lois, is musing over her new condo, in which she is explicitly happy about not having to worry about any vegetation as she thinks to herself “This building has a security system, and the only plant life is in pots in the solarium.” When first reading the story, this passage may have little or no meaning, other than she dislikes gardening. However, when reading the story a second time, her dislike for the vegetation growing around her house could be interpreted as her willingness to distance herself from the incident where her friend, Lucy, disappeared during a camping trip. Since Lucy disappeared into the woods, Lois may find that any form of nature is a representation of that incident that she wishes to put behind her.

            Conversely, Lois keeps numerous paintings created by ‘The Group of Seven,’ depicting various landscapes in the Canadian wilderness. Although Lois tries desperately to forget the incident by shunning all nature in person, she still cannot let go of what happened, and self-consciously clings to the incident through the paintings she collects. Lois even made certain that her new apartment would be able to hold all the paintings and remarks “She bought them because she wanted them. She wanted something that was in them, although she could not have said at the time what it was.” Lois then mentions that the paintings do not bring her peace, instead they make her feel uneasy. This could perhaps be a masochistic need to help quell the guilt she feels about Lucy disappearing. Since this story is told from Lois’s point of view, it becomes a possibility that not everything she said to the camp councilor was true and that she may have had some involvement in Lucy’s disappearance.

            The theme of wildness can be seen in other forms of literature and film as well. Often there is the archetypal theme of Man vs. Nature that appears in literature and film based around a character’s survival experience. The theme of wilderness can also be used in a more calming manner as an escape from the harshness of society. The image of nature can perhaps be interpreted as the pureness of the world as well, and as forests are removed, the image of the world becomes tainted.

            The theme of wilderness in most works of literature works as a symbol rather than an allegory. Since an image of the wilderness can have many possible meanings, it is impossible to label it with the single-minded messages of an allegory. In “Death by Landscape” the image of wilderness can be interpreted as something that is feared by Lois, but also offers her a form of redemption. Lois’s strong dislike for simple vegetation such as the ivy growing on her wall and her uneasiness around her paintings shows her fear and perhaps guilt of when Lucy disappeared. However, at the end of the story as Lois sees Lucy’s image in each of her paintings and believes Lucy’s spirit to live within them, the wilderness images offer her a sense of salvation as she is able to finally move on from the disappearance of her friend.