The Edible Woman

In Part 2 of The Edible Woman, Atwood switches from first person point of view to third person limited focused on Marian. Two months after her engagement to Peter, Marian struggles to concentrate on her job at Seymour Surveys. She is no longer invested in her job, as she anticipates her supervisors expecting her to quit once she announces her engagement. She has not seen Duncan since they kissed outside the laundromat but thinks of him frequently. Marian and the office virgins Lucy, Millie, and Emmy decide to go to an early lunch at a nearby restaurant. During lunch, Marian tells them of her engagement. She is made uncomfortable by their responses, which she feels are inauthentic and their interest in her wedding “impersonal.”

Once back in the office, Peter calls to cancel their dinner plans to continue working on an important legal case. Marian then receives a call from Clara’s husband Joe to tell her that Clara has given birth to their third child. Marian makes plans to visit Clara the next day in the hospital.

A crisis with an imposter interviewer occupies the rest of Marian’s afternoon at work: A man is calling women pretending to be a representative of Seymour Surveys and asking questions about their underwear preferences.