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Margaret Laurence's Women: Isolation and Survival in the Manawaka Sequence
Ondová, Zuzana ; Horová, Miroslava (advisor) ; Nováková, Soňa (referee)
This bachelor thesis examines the theme of isolation and survival in A Jest of God (1966) and The Fire-Dwellers (1969), the second and third novel in Margaret Laurence's Manawaka sequence, on the background of Margaret Atwood's book Survival: A Thematic Guide to Canadian Literature (1972). At a time when Canadian literature was a nebulous term, Atwood identified the notion of survival as the common, unifying theme in literary works produced by writers across the vast country, with victims, death, terror and isolation as the accompanying motifs. She defines the concept as multi-faceted, distinguishing the external/physical survival found in early Canadian explorer writing and the internal/psychological survival common in later fiction writers. Furthermore, based on the argument that as a colony, Canada is inherently victimized, she proposes a system of four Victim Positions into which we can categorize Canadian protagonists. Margaret Laurence (1926-1987) is considered one of the fundamental figures of the English- Canadian novel. In the Introduction I provide insight into the socio-cultural climate of the time period and the bleak state of Canadian publishing industry at the time. Since Laurence's works are tied to the Manitoba prairie, I touch on the significance of regionalism in understanding Canadian...
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Canadian Literary Regionalism: Rural Ontario and Manitoba Pariries In the Works of Alice Munro and Margaret Laurence
Ondová, Zuzana ; Kolinská, Klára (advisor) ; Jindra, Miroslav (referee)
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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