49 pages 1 hour read

Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2015

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Important Quotes

Quotation Mark Icon

“There’s no safe place, there are no instructions. It’s like he’s being blown by a vicious but mindless wind, aimlessly round and round in circles. No way out.”


(Chapter 1, Page 16)

While this quote refers to how Stan feels in the apocalyptic wasteland before he signs up for Consilience, it succinctly captures how little agency he feels throughout the entire text. He is constantly pushed and pulled by forces outside of his control, has no idea where he is going, and always feels trapped by circumstances. This introduces the theme The Illusion of Free Will.

Quotation Mark Icon

“‘Those things like losing the house, and, and...those things have happened to a lot of people. To most people.’

‘But not to everyone,’ Stan would say. ‘Not to fucking everyone.’

Not to rich people.”


(Chapter 1, Page 19)

A central tenet of the novel’s critique of The Pitfalls of Capitalism and wealth inequality is that they lead to a segregated society, where the same rules and consequences do not apply to people with large amounts of money. Stan’s contempt for the rich stems from the fact that he lost everything in a financial crash he had nothing to do with, despite the fact that he worked hard and lived a modest life.

Quotation Mark Icon

“Oh no, Charmaine said. Oh no, I couldn’t! Though she’d had a tiny flash of excitement, like peering in through a window and seeing another version of herself inside, leading a second life; a more raucous and rewarding second life.”


(Chapter 2, Page 46)

This passage is the first suggestion that Charmaine is less innocent and prudish than she projects, and that she is less-than-satisfied with the current state of her sex life. She has to reject Sandi and Veronica’s offer to become a sex worker to maintain her image, but the fact she is momentarily excited by the idea of sex work reveals she has a desire to be somebody else and live a different life.

Related Titles

By Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Alias Grace

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Backdrop Addresses Cowboy

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Cat's Eye

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

Death By Landscape

Margaret Atwood

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

Hag-Seed

Margaret Atwood

Hag-Seed: William Shakespeare's The Tempest Retold

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Helen of Troy Does Countertop Dancing

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Lady Oracle

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Life Before Man

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

MaddAddam

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Rape Fantasies

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Stone Mattress

Margaret Atwood

Plot Summary

logo

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Surfacing

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

The Blind Assassin

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

The Circle Game

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

The Edible Woman

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

Study Guide

logo

The Landlady

Margaret Atwood

The Landlady

Margaret Atwood