| dc.description.abstract | The primary objective o f this thesis is to examine the ways in which the ordinary lives
that Carol Shields describes in her fiction are transformed into extraordinary narratives. I will
use three of Shields’ novels as anchor texts—The Stone Diaries Happenstance and Marv
Swarm—in the sense that I will focus closely on these novels in my close textual analysis and
draw from them my arguments about Shields fiction. Yet, the ideas and arguments presented
here have not been based on these novels alone as the fuller context of Shields’ work —her
other novels Small Ceremonies and Various Miracles as well as her poetry and short stories —
have informed my opinions, as has my wider critical reading. Also, I have been assisted greatly
by the opportunity to meet and interview Shields herself in Winnipeg during February 1996.
In order to be able to meet my primary objective successfully, I have divided discussion
into four chapters. In the first I will consider the ways in which Shields’ fiction is underscored
by visual politics which challenge power relations in her texts and necessitate the inclusion of
photographs, letters and other graphics, as part of the narratives. These visual components
disturb the narrative and provide visual counter-narratives without destroying the original voice
so multiple layers are formed. The effect o f these visual disturbances is to bring the dynamics
of reading into focus as the reader begins to “read” the narrative thread presented in the visual
inclusions as well as the narrative threads that are presented as written text.
The challenges to traditional power relations that I identify that Shields’ makes in her
fiction are continued in the second chapter. Here there will be a concentration on Shields’
narrative constructs and an attempt to come to an understanding o f the exact nature of her works’ narratological features as Shields experiments with new voices and new ways of telling.
I will attempt to identify the exact voices that can be seen to exist in the polyphony of voices
that her novels create and sustain.
The third chapter will identify the gender dynamics at work in Shields’ fiction through
the ways in which she depicts relationships between men and women, the dynamics of same
sex friendships and also the ways in which familial relationships are affected by gender. Also, I
will examine the ways in which Shields foregrounds a parallel male and female experience in an
attempt to draw the sexes together on common ground through shared experience rather than
forcing them apart with the threat of irreconcilable differences.
The final chapter will examine in close detail the way in which Shields’ narratives can be
seen to explode generic expectation by presenting a collage of disparate parts drawn from many
disciplines, such as, art, psychology, medicine, literature and (auto) biography. This chapter
primarily concentrates on (auto) biography as Shields makes huge leaps forward in
manipulating this recognisable form for the benefit o f ordinary voices that have been silenced
for too long. Also, (auto) biography is Shields’ favourite theme in her work and she returns to
it frequently.
Ultimately, Shields’ fiction aims to take the stigma away from the ordinary and
commonplace aspects of life and bring a new respect and understanding to them. This thesis
attempts to outline the ways in which she achieves this goal and is able to transform ordinary
lives into extraordinary narratives. | |
