A Reason To Kill Margaret Atwood's Surfacing is an intensely symbolic novel about an artist whose weekend trip home to search for her missing father turns into a journey of self discovery. The main character in the story is also the narrator and is not given a name probably because readers will be able to identify with her as the story's heroine. Early in the story, she talks about being married, divorced, and having a …showed first 75 words of 1821 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1821 total…which she is pregnant symbolizes the potential to become human. She has regained her own humanity and finally feels in control of her life. She has accepted the deaths of her parents. She has forgiven herself for having the abortion. She has surfaced as a true human. If she does go back with Joe, he will become her link to society, and their relationship will assist her in continuing to develop as a human being.