Not only does Atwood explore the traditional stereotypes as they apply to men and women, but in some instances reverses the roles of the sexes, breaking from the conventions of what is expected of males and females, especially in relation to the other.

Men and Women in the Workplace in Bluebeard’s Egg

Bluebeard’s Egg tells the story of Sally and her husband, Ed. Ed is a twice-divorced cardiologist who constantly has women throwing themselves at him, but is too oblivious to notice. Sally, on the other hand, runs the in-house organ for a medium sized trust company. It sounds impressive, but it really is not, which is why Sally constantly tells people that she is in P.R. whenever she wants to impress them.

Even though Sally is technically second-in-command at her job, she actually runs the show, since the man above her has never worked in management before. Unfortunately for Sally, he gets all the credit. The disparity between Ed and Sally’s professions, and the fact that Sally gets no recognition, speaks to the fact that women are generally employed in lower positions that men, and that men are supposed to be the brains of any operation.