The Resplendent Quetzal

The Resplendent Quetzal

"The Resplendent Quetzal" is a short story by Margaret Atwood. It was published in the collection "Dancing Girls" in 1977.

Plot summary

Sarah and Edward are on a vacation in South America, and are visiting uninteresting tourist locations. Sarah and Edward are married, but do not get along well. Sarah describes Edward's passions (such as birdwatching) as "compulsions" which are "awkward and boyish". They merely make her tired. Sarah is "bland and pale and plump and smug". Things were once different between them, but Sarah had a miscarriage and they have become increasingly uninterested in each other since. Their discrepancies multiply. While visiting a restaurant, Sarah steals a toy figure of baby Jesus, and later throws it into a sacrificial well that they visit on a tour. Edward sees this and makes an attempt to confront her, but their contact fails, and the story ends.


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  • Resplendent Quetzal (disambiguation) — Resplendent Quetzal can refer to:* Resplendent Quetzal ( Pharomachrus mocinno ), a spectacular bird of the trogon family * The Resplendent Quetzal , a short story by Margaret Atwood …   Wikipedia

  • Resplendent Quetzal — This article is about the bird. For the short story, see The Resplendent Quetzal. Resplendent Quetzal A male Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • Quetzal (disambiguation) — Quetzal can refer to:* Quetzal, a group of colourful birds of the trogon family found in tropical regions of the Americas. Quetzal is also often used to refer to one particular species, the Resplendent Quetzal * Guatemalan quetzal, the currency… …   Wikipedia

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  • quetzal — /ˈkɛtsəl/ (say ketsuhl) noun 1. any of various Central American birds of the genus Pharomachrus, as the resplendent quetzal, P. mocinno, having golden green and scarlet plumage, and, in the male, long flowing upper tail coverts; the national bird …  

  • quetzal — noun a) A trogon of the genus Pharomacrus, especially the resplendent quetzal P. mocinno, with very long tail feathers, found in Guatemala and Costa Rica. b) A monetary unit used in Guatemala, equal to 100 centavos …   Wiktionary

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  • quetzal — /ket sahl /, n., pl. quetzals, quetzales / sah lays/. 1. any of several large Central and South American trogons of the genus Pharomachrus, having golden green and scarlet plumage, esp. P. mocino (resplendent quetzal), the national bird of… …   Universalium

  • Guatemalan quetzal — Infobox Currency currency name in local = quetzal guatemalteco es icon image 1 = GuatemalanBanknoteQ100BothSides.jpg iso code = GTQ using countries = flag|Guatemala inflation rate = 6.6% inflation source date =… …   Wikipedia

  • Eared Quetzal — Taxobox name = Eared Quetzal status = NT | status system = IUCN3.1 regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Aves ordo = Trogoniformes familia = Trogonidae genus = Euptilotis genus authority = Gould, 1858 species = E. neoxenus binomial =… …   Wikipedia

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