| dc.description.abstract | This thesis grew out o£ the difficulties in classifying
Gallant’s fiction. Critics, when examining the works of Mavis
Gallant, have tended to use a thematic approach: the themes of
exile, fractured human relationships, and the importance of
memory in recreating the past have all been described as
unifying features of her work.* The critics' reliance upon this
particular approach has meant that the way in which Gallant uses
language to construct her fiction has been relatively neglected.
As Barbara Godard writes: "Obsessed with thematic analysis and
the national scene, critics failed to evolve a vocabulary and
concepts for discussing the construction of literary reality,
for exploring the technical means of achieving what Barthes
calls the 'reality effect'" (76). Godard's study, which
develops a semiotics of irony through an analysis of Gallant's
irony, takes the first step in addressing this critical
deficiency. In this thesis, I would like to continue along the
path Godard has illuminated. Through an exploration of the
r
structure of two of Gallant's texts, this thesis wil examine the
way in which Gallant uses language itself to undercut the
'reality effect' created by language. | |
