Canadian Literary Regionalism: Rural Ontario and Manitoba Prairies In the Works of Alice Munro and Margaret Laurence

Ondová, Zuzana

The BA thesis deals with the use of region in the works of two renowned Canadian authors of the 20th century, Margaret Laurence and Alice Munro. For my analysis I have chosen Laurence's novel The Diviners (1974), the final work in her Manawaka sequence, and Alice Munro's first published collection of short stories, Dance of the Happy Shades (1968). Laurence sets her Canadian novels primarily in Manawaka, a small prairie town based her own hometown. Munro, who is largely associated with Southern Ontario Gothic, takes us to several towns in southwestern Ontario. Since both authors have successfully been published outside of Canada I also discuss whether their works are distinctly Canadian in any way. Contemporary Canadian studies recognize regionalism as one of the defining features of the country. In the introduction, I touch on the lack of uniform identity, experience and interests in a country as ethnically and geographically diverse as Canada. Although the first thing that comes to mind in relation to Canadian regions, is the division of the country into provinces and territories, it is not the only way to approach regionalism - the country could be divided into different regions if we were to focus on language or climate. Beverly Rasporich proposes the view that artists serve as "active creators...

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