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https://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/1591
Title: | Braided strands of meaning : Mavis Gallant's language |
Authors: | Miller, Katherine Marion |
Issue Date: | 1994 |
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. |
URI: | http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/1591 |
metadata.etd.degree.discipline: | English |
metadata.etd.degree.name: | Master of Arts |
metadata.etd.degree.level: | Master |
metadata.dc.contributor.advisor: | Fedderson, Kim MacGillivray, S. R. |
Appears in Collections: | Retrospective theses |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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MillerK1994m-1b.pdf | 7.73 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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