“Uma de minhas regras era que eu não colocaria nenhum evento no livro que já não tivesse

acontecido no que James Joyce chamou de o “pesadelo” da história, nem nenhuma tecnologia que já não
estivesse disponível. Nenhuma bugiganga imaginária, nenhuma lei imaginária, nem atrocidades
imaginárias.”

“I’ve implied that the writer functions on his or her Society as a kind of soothsayer,
a truth teller; that writing is not mere self-expression but a view at society and the world
at large, and that the novel is a moral instrument. Moral implies political, and traditionally
the novel has been used not only as a vehicle for social commentary but as a vehicle for
political commentary as well. The novelist, at any rate, still sees a connection between
politics and the moral sense, even if politicians gave that up some time ago. By “political”
I mean having to do with power: who’s got it, who wants it, how it operates; in a word,
who’s allowed to do what to whom, who gets away with it and how.” ATWOOD,
Margaret. Second Words: Selected Critical Prose, 1984. Beacon Press.