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Linking Narratives by Anna Jameson, Sara Jeannette Duncan and Mavis Gallant

by

Jane Leslie Sellwood

B.A. Hons. English, Carleton University, 1978 M.A. Canadian Studies, Carleton University, 1981 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in the Department of English

We accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard

_____________________________ Dr. Misao Dean, Supervisor (Department of English)

Dr. Stephen Scobie, Departmental Member (Department of English)

Dr. Nelson Smith, Dep^'tmental Member (Department of English)

W.D. Valgardson/yOutside Member (Department of Creative Writing)

Dr. Carole F. Gerson, External Examiner (Department of English, Simon Fraser University)

(c) JANE LESLIE SELLWOOD, 1995 University of Victoria

All rights reserved. Dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopying or other means, without the

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Supervisor: Dr. M i s a o Dean

A b s t r a c t

The linking short n a r r a t i v e s e x p l o r e d in this s t u d y — Anna J a m e s o n ' s W i n t e r S t u d i e s and S u m m e r R a m b l e s in C a n a d a,

Sara J e a n n e t t e D u n c a n ' s The Pool In the Desert and M a v i s G a l l a n t ' s Home T r u t h s — e m p l o y f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r s to b o t h c o m p l y w i t h and subvert d o m i n a n t ideas of the g e n d e r e d female subject. In addition, th e s e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e l inking n a r r a t i v e texts d e m o n s t r a t e that c h o i c e s to do w i t h form, as wel l as subject a n d theme, m a y bot h support and subvert the d i s c o u r s e s of the t i m e a n d p l a c e in w h i c h t h e y are

written. M y e x p l o r a t i o n of these th r e e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e texts d r a w s f rom W.H. Ne w ' s f r a g m e n t a t i o n t h e o r y of short

narratives, G é r a r d G e n e t t e ' s n a r r a t i v e t h e o r y of v o i c e and mood, Paul de M a n ' s p r o b l e m a t i r a t i o n of g e n e r i c

d i s t i n c t i o n s b e t w e e n a u t o b i o g r a p h y a n d fiction, a n d J u l i a K r i s t e v a ' s t h e o r y of the s p e aking subject as text in

p r o c e s s a n d vice versa.

J a m e s o n ' s R o m a n t i c "I" uses the m i s c e l l a n y ' s f l e x i b l e f orm o f linking short n a r r a t i v e s a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l l y to b o t h r eify a n d r e cuse n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y g e n r e c o n v e n t i o n s of trav e l n a r r a t i v e a n d the g e n d e r e d p o s i t i o n of w o m e n in

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E uro p e and Canada. As the Recusant "I," first p e rson

na r r a t i o n in D u ncan's quartet of stor i e s figures s p lits not onl y b e t w e e n female d e s i r e a n d g e n d e r codes, but also

betv;een c r e a t i v e i m a g i n a t i o n and c o n d i t i o n s of e x i l e . With a p s y c h o p o e t i c s of the unsaid, the R e m e m b e r i n g "I" of

G a l l a n t ' s linking n a r r a t i v e s figures female s u b j e c t i v i t y as a p r o c e s s of both p s y c h o l o g y and history.

T h e s e w o m e n - a u t h o r e d linking n a r r a t i v e s c h a l l e n g e a s s u m p t i o n s that f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t i o n is univocal, and t h e r e f o r e p r o b l e m a t i z e d i s t i n c t i o n s b e t w e e n a u t o b i o g r a p h y a n d fiction. In t h e i r uses of the linking n a r r a t i v e form, t h e y a l s o c h a l l e n g e a e s t h e t i c c r i t e r i a that p r i v i l e g e

w h o l e n e s s and u n i t y — of the novel, for e x a m p l e — in c o n c e p t s of m i m e s i s d o m i n a t i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of reality in their r e s p e c t i v e periods. T h e s e f i r s t - p e r s o n linking n a r ratives use the v o i c e of the "I" subversively, telling the d o u b l e d p o s i t i o n of the female subject in the d i s c o u r s e s of genre a n d gender.

Examiners:

_____________ D r . M i s a o Dean, S u p e r v i s o r (Department of English)

Dr. S t e p h e n Scobie, Dejjpr^mental M e m b e r (Department of English)

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Dr. N e l s o n Smith, D e p a r t m e n t a l M e m b e r (Department of English)

W.D. V algard^c^, O u t s i d e M e m b e r (Department of C r e a t i v e Writing)

Dr. C a r o l e F. Gerson, E x t ernal E x a m i n e r (Department of English, Simon Fraser U n i v e r s i t y

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Ab s t r a c t ii Ta b l e Of C o n tents V A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s vii D e d i c a t i o n viij Intr o d u c t i o n 01 W r i t i n g the Sub j e c t 10 S t o r i e s of G e n r e 19 Notes 25

C h a p t e r One C a n a d i a n L i n k i n g N a r r a t i v e s a n d the Female

” I ^ 28 The F r a g m e n t i n g Form 28 S u b j e c t s and T e x t s 42 F i g u r i n g the F e m a l e ” 1" 47 The S p l i t t i n g "I" 54 Notes 57 C h a p t e r T w o The R o m a n t i c "I": A n n a J a m e s o n ' s W i n t e r S tudies and S u m m e r Rambles in C a n a d a (1838)

60 The S a l o n i è r e Text 70 A F e m i n i n e J o u r n e y 72 A Feminist R o m a n t i c 77 A P i c t u r e of M i n d 82 W i n t e r M e l a n c h o l y 89 S u m m e r Del i g h t 108 Notes 123

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C h a p t e r Th r e e T h e R e c usant "I": Sara J e a n n e t t e Duncan's The Pool In the D e s e r t (1903) 132

New R e a l i s m ' s Pool 140

S to r i e s of Exile 155

The Face In the Pool 163

A D r e a m of C o o l n e s s 17 4 Pas f e m m e - a r t i s t e ? 191

N o t e s 200

C h a p t e r Four T h e R e m e m b e r i n g "I": M a v i s G a l l a n t ' s Home

T r u t h s (1981) 210 Un m e n s o n g e 213 The U n s a i d 224 The (M)other At H o m e 233 P a t e r f a m i l i a s A b r o a d 236 T h e B i r d of T a l e n t 24 8 N o t e s 297 C o n c l u s i o n 304 Worlcs Ci t e d P r i m a r y Sou r c e s 313 S e c o n d a r y S o u r c e s 315

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A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t s

Sev e r a l p e o p l e h ave ai d e d m y c o m p l e t i o n of this d i s s e r t a t i o n . Firstly, I th a n k the m e m b e r s of my

d i s s e r t a t i o n committee, p a r t i c u l a r l y Dr, M i s a o Dean, w h c < e t e n a c i t y and critical insight p r o v i d e d s c h o l a r l y support and g u i d a n c e on a j o u r n e y that o t h e r w i s e often w o u l d have s e e m e d mapless. I th a n k the staff of Spec i a l C o l l e c t i o n s a n d the M c P h e r s o n L i b r a r y at the U n i v e r s i t y of V i c t o r i a for t h e i r a s s i s t a n c e in l o c ating m a t e r i a l s a n d for p r o v i d i n g a m u c h - n e e d e d space in w h i c h to research a n d write. In

p a rticular, Dietrich Be r t z in Special C o l l e c t i o n s gave v a l u a b l e a s s i s t a n c e w i t h the G e r m a n t r a n s l a t i o n s for

C h a p t e r Two. For t h e i r support, I th a n k my children Bruce Baskerville, Brian Baskerville, S h a n n o n B a s k e r v i l l e

Woodland, a n d their families. I a m gr a t e f u l also to Judith T e r r y a n d Dr. Reg T e r r y for th e i r g e n e r o u s kindness, h u m o u r a n d a c c o m modation. Lastly, I a c k n o w l e d g e Dr. Jeff W o o der's a s s i s t a n c e in n a v i g a t i n g the rockiest r oad of all.

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Thi s d i s s e r t a t i o n is d e d i c a t e d to m y p a r e n t s

A l f r e d L e s l i e S e l l w o o d 1911-1958 N e l s i e M yra R e a d i n g S e l l w o o d 1914-1994

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T h e c o n c l u s i o n to J.R. Struthers' study of c o n t e m p o r a r y C a n a d i a n story cycles notes that this " f l e x i b l e f orm has often bee n a s u i table vehicle for e x p r e s s i n g two of the strongest traditions in C a n a d i a n literature: the impulse towards a u t o b i o g r a p h y and the impulse towards d o c u m e n t a r y " (291). N i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y l inking short n a r r a t i v e s — such as T h o m a s M c C u l l o c h ’s The Let t e r s of M e p h i b o s h e t h S t e p s u r e (I860), wh i c h first a p p e a r e d as sketches in the A c a d i a n R e c order; Susa n n a H o o d i e ' s s k e tches and tales, which a p p e a r e d first in the L i t e r a r y G a r l a n d a n d the V i c t o r i a M a g a z i n e , and then w e r e p u b l i s h e d as R o u g h i n g it in the Bush (1 8 5 2 ) ; and C a t h a r i n e Parr T r a i l l ' s e p i s t o l a r y T h e B a c k w o o d s of C a nada (1846)— d r e w on a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l a n d d o c u m e n t a r y forms of the sketch, e s s a y a n d letter, a n d a r e rich a n t e c e d e n t s of c o n t e m p o r a r y C a n a d i a n st o r y cycles (Struthers 291).

W h i l e the most common term for the form in recent c r i t i c a l us a g e is "story cycle," linking short n a r r a t i v e s h a v e b een a lso d e s i g n a t e d " s tory sequ e n c e " a n d "open form."

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Critical and t heoretical d i s c u s s i o n s have s t r e s s e d the

r e l a t i o n of linking short n a r r a t i v e s to the fictional forms of both the short story a n d the novel. As a result,

d e f i n i t i o n s of the "story cycle" have ta k e n for g r a n t e d m o d e r n i s t a s s u m p t i o n s of o r g a n i c unity.^ A t t e m p t s at d e f i n i t i o n raise p r o b l e m s of c a t e g o r i z a t i o n and

classification, that is, the o c c l u s i o n a r y p r o c e s s w h i c h Jac q u e s Der r i d a p e r s i s t e n t l y c h a l l e n g e s in his p r o j e c t to de c o n s t r u c t the b i n a r y o p p o s i t i o n a l basis of W e s t e r n

t h o u g h t M y d e f i n i t i o n of linking n a r r a t i v e s by C a n a d i a n w o m e n w r i t e r s in English is fluid, a n d takes into acc o u n t the h i s t o r i c i t y of ge n r e a n d d e c o n s t r u c t i o n of its laws. By lin k i n g n a r r a t i v e s I m e a n a n y fragmentary, s e q u e n t i a l l y arranged, d i s c o n t i n u o u s e n s e m b l e of p r o s e — sketches, essays, anecdotes, journal entries, s t o r i e s — that is

p r e s e n t e d as a c l u s t e r but d e r i v e s its s i g n i f i c a t i o n f r o m p a r a d o x i c a l j u x t a p o s i t i o n r a t h e r than u n i f i e d resolution. I u s e the p r e s e n t p a rticiple, " l i n k i n g , " i n s t e a d of the past pa rticiple, " l i n k e d " b e c a u s e the l a t t e r i mplies a c o m p l e t e d series, and w i t h that, a t t r i b u t e s of l i n e a r i t y a n d closure; the f o rmer implies the opposite, that is, an o n g o i n g s e r i e s w i t h a t t r i b u t e s of s p a t i a l i t y a n d open n e s s . L i n e a r i t y and c l o s u r e a s c r i b e d to the n o v e l a n d to a n d r o c e n t r i c

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struc t u r e of beginning, m i d d l e a n d end. Spa t i a l i t y and

openness, on the o t h e r hand, m a y be f igurations of the text that not o n l y f o r e g r o u n d d i s c o n t i n u i t y w ith androcentric, or status quo, representations, but a l s o ascribe to

e x p e r i e n c e the p r e s e n c e of the past in the present, so that e v e n t s are r e p r e s e n t e d as a s y n c h r o n i c n o n - c o m p l e t i n g

p a t t e r n r a t h e r than as a d i a c h r o n i c series of c o m p l e t e d causes and effects. Linking n a r r a t i v e s by women have the pote n t i a l to subvert these a n d r o c e n t r i c criteria b y their s p e a k i n g p o s i t i o n in r e l a t i o n to the symbolic or d e r of c u l t u r e a n d language, wh i c h i n c l u d e s h i e r archical

a s s u m p t i o n s of genre.

The linking n a r r a t i v e s e x p l o r e d in this study e m p l o y a f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r to bot h c o m p l y with and subvert

d o m inant ideas of the g e n d e r e d f e m a l e subject. Furthermore, these linking short n a r r a t i v e s d e m o n s t r a t e a split t i n g image of s u b v e r s i o n a n d r e i f i c a t i o n in views of what is c o n t i n u o u s and w hat is d i s c o n t i n u o u s with a s s u m p t i o n s of r e a l i t y that s t r e s s unity, l i n e a r p r o g r e s s and causality. T he serial f r a g m e n t a t i o n s of l i n k i n g short narratives by A n n a Jameson, Sara J e a n n e t t e D u ncan and M a v i s Gal l a n t are r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s d i s c o n t i n u o u s w i t h laws not o nly of

i m p e r i a l / c o l o n i a l c u l t u r e but a l s o realism, genre and gender.

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L in k i n g n a r r a t i v e s d i s p l a y "amazing p o s s i b i l i t i e s " (Hood 1) of c o m b i n i n g both fictional a n d n o n-fictional forms of story, sketch, anecdote, tale a n d essay. The

flexib i l i t y of linking nar r a t i v e s is d e m o n s t r a t e d in th e i r m i n g l i n g of "genres a n d c o n v e ntions" a n d "fact and

f iction," as well as in their a c c o m m o d a t i o n of

a u t o b i o g r a p h y ' s " d o c u m e n t a r y fact" and "poetic truths" (Stich i x ) S o m e e x a m p l e s e x t e n d i n g f r o m the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y to the p r e s e n t include: John Y o u n g ' s The L e t t e r s of A g r i c o l a (1822), C a t h e r i n e Parr T r a i l l ' s The B a c k w o o d s of C a nada (1846), Ralph C o n n o r ' s G l e n g a r r y School Days (1902), F.P. G r o v e ' s Ta l e s F r o m the M a r g i n (unpublished), K lee W y c k

(1941) , Jake a n d the K i d (1961), E r nest B uckler's Ox Bells a n d F i r e f l i e s (1968), M a r g a r e t L a u r e n c e ' s A B ird in the House (1970), A l i c e M u n r o ' s Lives of G i r l s and W o m e n

(1971), Cl a r k B l a i s e ' s A No r t h A m e r i c a n E d u c a t i o n (1973) a n d S a ndra B i r d s e l l ' s A g a s s i z Stories (1987).

Furthermore, l i n k i n g n a r r a t i v e forms d e m o n s t r a t e an impulse to autobi o g r a p h y , r e s e m b l i n g m o d e s such as

b i l d u n g s r o m a n a n d k u n s t l e r r o m a n . In the e x t e n s i v e

h i s t o r i c a l s u r v e y w h i c h in t r o d u c e s h e r t h esis on the open f o r m a n d u n i t y of A l i c e M u n r o ’s s t o r y sequences, Linda L e i t c h co m m e n t s that t h e w a y

in w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n p r o v i d e s an over a l l sense of u n i t y in a w o r k c o m p r i s e d of

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i n dependent units is the d e v e l o p m e n t of a central c h a r a c t e r — a d e v e l o p m e n t u s u a l l y s i m i l a r in n a ture to the d e v e l o p m e n t of the p r o t a g o n i s t in B i l d u n g s r o m a n and K u n s t l e r r o m a n . (Leitch 45)

A l t h o u g h both S t r u t h e r s and L e itch d r a w a t t e n t i o n to the a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l i m p u l s e in C a n a d i a n short linking narratives, n e i t h e r d i s t i n g u i s h e s b e t w e e n m a l e and female a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l subjects, a n d n e i t h e r c o n s i d e r s feminist c r i t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e s on life w r i t i n g that see wome n ' s a u t o b i o g r a p h y as not c o n f o r m i n g to the c o n v e n t i o n s of both a u t o b i o g r a p h y a n d b i l d u n g s r o m a n that e m e r g e d in the ea r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y a n d w h i c h traced the l i n e a r and

p r o g r e s s i v e d e v e l o p m e n t o f a m a l e self a n d his integration w i t h society. C o nversely, w o m e n ' s a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l

n a r r a t i v e s t end to r e p r e s e n t female e x p e r i e n c e w i thin the p r i v a t e d o m e s t i c sphere, are of t e n s h a p e d b y c o n cepts of self as "other," a n d c h a l l e n g e the b o u n d a r i e s of

c o n v e n t i o n a l a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l form.^

Th e a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l "I" f a c i l i t a t e s a w a y of d o c u m e n t i n g wliat m a y b e u n d o c u m e n t able in c o n v e n t i o n a l realist forms.^ T h e t r a d i t i o n a l b i l d u n g s r o m a n e m e r g e d in the e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y al o n g w ith the pr o s e

autob i o g r a p h y , w h i c h p e r f o r m e d s i m i l a r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of an i n d i v i d u a l ' s d e v e l o p m e n t f r o m i n n o c e n c e to e x p e r i e n c e and e v e n t u a l i n t e g r a t i o n w i t h society. Recent f e m inist

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critical a n d t h eoretical s t u d i e s reveal the a n d r o c e n t r i c bias of these forms, w h i c h a s s u m e s the d e v e l o p i n g s e l f to be a m a l e u n i f i e d subject, a n d that s o c i e t y i t self is a unified, o r g a n i c whole. In this view, the p r o g r e s s of the a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l subject r e f l e c t s i n t e g r a t i o n w ith s o c i e t y and the p u b l i c life of the time, a s p here from w h i c h

w o m e n ' s lives wer e g e n e r a l l y excluded.®

C a n a d i a n linking n a r r a t i v e s m a y also b e a r out this d i f f e r e n c e in a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of m a l e a n d f e male subjects. Contrast, for example, the f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r o f The L e t t e r s of M e p h i b o s h e t h S t e p s u r e (1860), a lame o r p h a n w h o d e v e l o p s into a p r o s p e r o u s and r e s p e c t e d m e m b e r o f his M a r i t i m e community, t r a c i n g in his

s e r m o n / l e t t e r s its d e v e l o p m e n t as w e l l as his own, to the f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r of R o u g h i n g It In the B ush (1852), a yo u n g m a r r i e d wo m a n w h o t r a c e s the e v e n t s of seven ye a r s of r a i s i n g a family in the b u s h c u l m i n a t i n g in the m u c h - q u o t e d lines d e s c r i b i n g the h a r s h e f f e c t s of th e s e h a r d s h i p s on he r b o d y a n d sta t i n g h e r u n f i t n e s s for the w o r l d (Moodie 501). T w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y e x a m p l e s of the d i f f e r e n c e in

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of m a l e a n d f e male s u b j e c t s m a y be r ead in Er nest B u c k l e r ' s Ox Bells a n d F i r e f l i e s (1968), w h i c h

tr aces the d e v e l o p m e n t of the n a r r a t o r a c c o r d i n g to i n t e g r i t y w i t h an o r g a n i c cy c l e of seasons, a n d M a r g a r e t

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L a u r e n c e ' s A B ird In the House (1963), w h i c h records the g r owth of the narrator, w h o s e task it is to j u x t a p o s e the o p p o s i t i o n a l personal, his t o r i c a l a n d social d i f f e r e n c e s e m b o d i e d in h e r two sets of g r a n d p a r e n t s and in the

c o m m u n i t y in w h i c h she lives.

N ot until m o r e recent linking n a r r a t i v e s such as C l a r k B l a i s e ' s A N o r t h A m e r i c a n E d u c a t i o n (1973) does a mal e

a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l n a r r a t o r e m erge w h o s e e x p e r i e n c e is r e p r e s e n t e d in e p i s o d i c fragments w h i c h lead not to

i n t e g r a t i o n w ith c o m m u n i t y but to an u n r e s o l v e d p o s ition of b oth b e l o n g i n g a n d not b e l o n g i n g as a "resident alien."

This se n s e of p a r a d o x in the r e l ation of the individual and the c o m m u n i t y is a l s o r e p r e s e n t e d in the linking na r r a t i v e s of A l i c e M u n r o ' s L i v e s of Gi r l s a n d Wo m e n (1971), w h i c h are stages in the g r o w i n g up, the b i l d u n g , of its r e t r o s p e c t i v e "I" n a r r a t o r w h o comes to an u n d e r s t a n d i n g of her s e l f

ac c o r d i n g to the j u x t a p o s i t i o n s of o f f i c i a l h i s t o r y and social c o n v e n t i o n w i t h the un o f f i c i a l codes of i n d ividual experience, a p a r a d o x w h i c h is like "deep caves p a v e d w i t h k itchen l i n o l e u m " (Munro 210). M u n r o ' s ironic "I" sees that w o m e n ' s lives are b o t h f o rmed by a n d p a r t i c i p a t e in the p a r a d o x i c a l f l u x of the c o n v e n t i o n s a n d codes of community. L i k e B l a i s e ' s narrator, M u n r o ' s female subject o f fers a d o u b l e d image of the individual. In contrast, however, to

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the small town d o m e s t i c arena of M u n r o *3 f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t o r is B l a i s e ' s m o r e public, i n t e r n a t i o n a l ar e n a e n c o m p a s s i n g Montreal, America, a n d Europe.

D i f f e r e n c e s in a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s by m a l e and female w r i t e r s raise issues of g e n d e r in the w r i t i n g itself. E m p h a s i z i n g that sp e a k i n g of g e n d e r me a n s b r i n g i n g into d i s c o u r s e the s i g n i f i c a n c e of social and linguistic, as w ell as b i ological, d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n m e n and women, E l a i n e S h o w a l t e r insists that " g e n d e r . . .is a c o n stant r e m i n d e r of the o t h e r c a t e g o r i e s of d i f f e r e n c e s such as race a n d c l ass" (Showalter S p e a k i n g of G e n d e r 2- 3) A l t h o u g h g e n d e r m a y r s m i n d us of o t h e r c a t e g o r i e s of d ifference, it e l u d e s c l a s s i f i c a t i o n in the same o r d e r as the c a t e g o r i e s of race, class a n d co l o n i z a t i o n . T h e

i d e o l o g y of g e n d e r cuts a c ross th e s e c a t e g o r i e s of

d ifference. Paradoxically, the p r i v i l e g e d w h i t e w o m a n in an affluent, p o l i t i c a l l y p o w e r f u l s o c i e t y still o c c u p i e s a po s i t i o n of n o n - p r i v i l e g e w h e n it comes to p o w e r i m b a l a n c e s in m a l e and female g e n d e r positions. True, b o t h are

c o n s t r u c t e d in r e l a t i o n to what J a c q u e s L a c a n invokes as the " L a w - o f - t h e - f a t h e r , " that is, the " p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r " p r o j e c t i n g the s y m b o l i c o r d e r of c u l t u r e a n d language. M a l e a n d f e male s u b j e c t i v i t y are b oth g r o u n d e d b y this metaphor, but in d i f f e r i n g r e l a t i o n to it. A c c o r d i n g to E l i z a b e t h

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i n d i v i d u a l subject with the "figure o f the law,"

[iln i n t r o j e c t i n g the n a m e - o f - t h e - f a t h e r , the c hild (or rather, the b o y ) is p o s i t i o n e d wi t h r e f e r e n c e to the fat h e r ' s name. He is now b o u n d to the law, in so far as he is i m p l i c a t e d in the s y m b o l i c " d e b t , " g i ven a name, and an a u t h o r i z e d spe a k i n g position. The

p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r is not a si m p l e i n c a n t a t i o n but the f o r mula b y w h i c h the subject, thro u g h the c o n s t r u c t i o n of the unconscious, b e c o m e s an "I," and can s p e a k its own name. (Grosz 71)

However, as G r osz po i n t s out, what oc c u r s in "the case of the girl is less c l e a r and e x p l i c a b l e " (71). Indeed, her s p e a k i n g p o s i t i o n is not one of authority, but can on l y i m i tate that of the m a l e subject in r e l a t i o n to the " p a t e r n a l m e t aphor":

In o n e sense, in so far as she sp e a k s and says "I," she t o o mu s t take up a p l a c e as a subject of the symbolic; yet, in another, in so far as she is

p o s i t i o n e d as castrated, passive, an o b j e c t o f d e s i r e for m e n r a t h e r th a n a subject w h o desires, her

p o s i t i o n w i t h i n the sym b o l i c mu s t be m a r g i n a l or tenuous: w h e n she speaks as an "I" it is n e v e r clear that she spe a k s (of o r as) herself. She speaks in a m o d e of masqu e r a d e , in i m i t a t i o n of the masculine, p h a l l i c subject. (Grosz 71-72)

A s s u b j e c t s g e n d e r e d a c c o r d i n g to the p a t e r n a l metaphor, m a l e a n d fem a l e s p e a k d i f f e rently, a n d t h e r e f o r e w r i t e d i f f e r e n t l y . L i n k i n g narratives, wi t h t h e i r p r o c l i v i t y for r e p r e s e n t i n g paradox, m a y be a p a r t i c u l a r l y useful v e h i c l e for w r i t i n g the female subject.

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W r i t i n g the S u b j e c t

A c c o r d i n g to James Joyce, the e a r l y twentieth-century', linking nar r a t i v e s of D u b l i n e r s (1914) w ere a r r a n g e d b y h i m in a p r o g r e s s i o n of b i l d u n g to s i g n i f y f our a s p e c t s o f the moral p a r a l y s i s D u b l i n represented: "childhood,

adolescence, m a t u r i t y a n d p u b l i c life" (qtd. in F. I n g r a m 26 nl-2). The paralysis, to w h i c h Jo y c e h i m s e l f r e f e r r e d as a s t r u c t u r a l device, is r e i t e r a t e d in m o t i v e i m a g e r y of stasis, p a r t i c u l a r l y in the o p e n i n g a n d c l o s i n g narratives, "The S i s t e r s , " a n d "Th e D e a d . " T h e s e p i e c e s r e i t e r a t e the spiri t u a l and i d e o l o g i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n of the D u b l i n e r s b y i n s t i t u t i o n s of r e l i g i o u s a n d co l o n i a l culture. J o y c e ' s text s p e a k s to the e f f e c t s of not onl y "mo r a l " p a r a l y s i s but a l s o the p s y c h o l o g i c a l and s o c i a l p o s i t i o n i n g a c c o r d i n g to race, cl a s s a n d g e n d e r in the con t e x t of Ireland's

c o l o n i z e d r e l a t i o n to the i m p e r i a l c e n t r e s of B r i t a i n a n d Europe. W h i l e D u b l i n e r s v o i c e s the s u b m e r g e d p o p u l a t i o n of Dublin, w hat its linking n a r r a t i v e s r e p r e s e n t e x t e n d s to a b r o a d e r p u b l i c arena of n a t i o n a l historical, political, social and a e s t h e t i c concerns.

In contrast, the " l o o s e n e s s of form" that V i r g i n i a W o o l f c l a i m e d s l i g h t l y l a t e r e n a b l e d h e r to " e m b o d y all [her] d e p o s i t of e x p e r i e n c e in a shape that f i t t e d it" (Nicolson 231) g a v e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n to v a r i o u s s u b m e r g e d

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c o n s c i o u s n e s s e s of inner lives, and in the case of M r s . D a l l o w a y , that of a female subject, W o o l f wr o t e several short n a r r a t i v e s wit h Mrs. D a l l o w a y as the central subject; th e s e w ere p u b l i s h e d posthumously, a r r a n g e d in a s e q uence r e s e m b l i n g the s t r u c t u r e of the novel. T h e idea of

r e p r e s e n t i n g m u l t i p l e c o n s c i o u s n e s s h a d to "secrete a ho u s e for itself" (Woolf v i i i ) :

to m a k e a house and then inhabit it, as W o r d s w o r t h did and Coleridge, is, it need not be said, e q u a l l y g o o d a n d mor e p h i l o s o p h i c . But in the present case it was n e c e s s a r y to w r i t e the b o o k first a n d to invent a t h e o r y afterwards. (Woolf viii)

Indeed, the " f r a c t u r e d d e v e l o p m e n t a l plot" (Abel " N a r r a t i v e S t r u c t u r e ( s ) " 161) of the novel itself resembles a linking se ries of f r a g m e n t s of the m u l t i p l e " p a r t y consci o u s n e s s " for w h i c h W o o l f ' s Mrs. D a l l o w a y short n a r r atives w e r e the or i g i n a l m o d e l s (Woolf v i i i - i x ) . W o o l f ' s e x p e rimental at t e m p t s at lin k i n g f r a g m e n t e d in n e r e x p e r i e n c e s and

m u l t i p l e p e r c e p t i o n s in a for m that w o u l d a c c o m m o d a t e t h e m re f l e c t s "the e n c o u n t e r of g e n d e r w i t h narr a t i v e for m and a d u m b r a t e s the p s y c h o a n a l y t i c story of female development, a s t o r y Fr e u d a n d W o o l f d e v i s e d c o n c u r r e n t l y and

separately, a n d p u b l i s h e d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y in 1925" (Abel 161-162).® R e m a r k i n g on the extent to wh i c h W o o l f ' s w r i t i n g n a r r a t i v i z e s the u n a r t i c u l a t e d , that is, what is u n s a i d in the s y m b o l i c o r d e r of c u l t u r e a n d language, A b e l comments:

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In the r e a l m of c u l t u r e . . .masculine v a l u e s prevail and d e f l e c t the v i s i o n of the f e male novelist, i n s c r i b i n g a d u a l i t y into the f e m a l e narrative, t u r n e d J a n u s - l i k e t o w a r d the r e s p o n s e s of b oth self a n d o t h e r . T h i s

s c h i z o i d p e r s p e c t i v e can f r a cture the female text. The sp a c e b e t w e e n e m p h a s i s a n d undertone, a space that is a p p a r e n t in W o o l f ' s own text, m a y a lso be m a n i f e s t e d in the gap b e t w e e n a plot that is s h a p e d to c o n f i r m e x p e c t a t i o n s and a sub p l o t at odds with this

accom m o d a t i o n . ("Narrative S t r u c t u r e ( s ) " 163)

A t v a r i a n c e w ith the t r a d i t i o n a l e p i c d e v e l o p m e n t a l line of the b i l d u n g s r o m a n , the subtext o f Dubl i n e r s

s u b verts that convention. But w h i l e J o y c e ' s a n t i - e p i c a l l i n k i n g n a r r a t i v e s v o i c e the p a r a l y t i c d e v e l o p m e n t of p u b l i c life in a c o m m u n i t y of i n d i v i d u a l s r e p r e s e n t i n g

Irish c o l o n i a l identity, W o o l f ' s f r a c t u r e d n a r r a t i v e s att e m p t to r e p r e s e n t the g e n d e r p o s i t i o n i n g o f the

p s y c h i c a l l y split f e male subject, w h o s e c o n s t r u c t i o n b o t h co n f i r m s c o n v e n t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s a n d res i s t s th e i r

ac c o m m o d â t i o n .

F rederick P h ilip G r o v e ' s Ta l e s F r o m the M a r g i n ,^

co n s i s t s of four linking n a r r a t i v e g r o u p s w h i c h d e r i v e f r o m his e x p e r i e n c e s as an i m m i g r a n t s c hool t e a c h e r in rural Mani t o b a . T a k e n together, t h e y r e p r e s e n t a formal a n d

t h e m a t i c s u m m a r y of the t h e s i s p r e s e n t e d in the final narrative, "In S e a r c h of A c i r e m a , " w h i c h a s s e r t s as h i s t o r i c a l p a r a b l e the p o l i t i c a l s t r i f e a n d s p i r i t u a l m a l a i s e o f Europe. G r o v e ' s t h e s i s is that m i g r a t i o n to

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N o r t h A m e r i c a a n d the p r o m i s e of new life in the new w o r l d d i d not " i n d u c e a n y i n ner change, any r e b i r t h in the

s p i rit" (Grove, ts. 284). The m u l L l - e t h n i c g a t h e r i n g in a g e o g r a p h i c a l m a r g i n b e t w e e n set t l e m e n t a n d "a w i l d e r n e s s of muslceg b u s h , " a p l a c e that was "ten or t w e l v e m i l e s north of the e n d o f steel" (Grove, ts. 71), ev o k e s a past

c o m m u n i t y lost in the p r e s e n t m a t e r i a l p r o g r e s s t o w ards s e ttlement. Ironically, the a r r a n g e m e n t of G r o v e ' s linking n a r r a t i v e s shows that the m o v e f r o m h o m e s t e a d to s e t t l e m e n t t o w a r d s u r b a n i z a t i o n p r e c i p i t a t e s the rebirth of

m a t e r i a l i s m a n d s elf-interest, a n d the d e a t h of c o m m u n i t y values. R e l i c s o f th i s m a t e r i a l i s t i c , s p i r i t l e s s d rive r e m a i n as "large, fantastic, d e c a y e d h o u s e s " (Grove, ts. 234) in d e c a y i n g b o r o u g h s t h r o u g h o u t the I n t e r l a k e region of M a n i t o b a . T h e s e p a r a d o x i c a l icons of f a i l e d immigrant a m b i t i o n figure the p h i l o s o p h i c a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s of

h i s t o r i c a l f e a t u r e s of the i m m i g r a t i o n a n d settlement e x p e r i e n c e . L i k e D u b l i n e r s , the n a r r a t i v e s of Tales From

the M a r g i n are l i n k e d not o n l y by setting, c h a r a c t e r and theme, but a l s o b y the v o i c e o f a s p e a k i n g subject

c o n c e r n e d w i t h the p u b l i c and u n i v e r s a l e f f e c t s of m a t e r i a l i s t d e s i r e on the h u m a n spirit.

S h e i l a W a t s o n ' s l i n k i n g narratives. Fo u r S t o r i e s

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the a u t h o r i t y of the p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r on both its rural and ur b a n " k i n g d o m s . " D e r i v i n g fro m a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l fe a tures of W a t s o n ' s c h i l d h o o d a n d adolescence, the n a r r a t i v e s w o r k as a f a m i l y romance^° w h i c h both

r e c o n s t r u c t s the O e d i p u s m y t h — w i t h its g e n e s i s in the Cl a s s i c a l G r e c i a n g r o u n d of W e s t e r n c u l t u r e a n d l a n g u a g e — a n d d e c o n s t r u c t s the p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r which, in its

authority, p e r s i s t s in s n i p p i n g a n d sewing " t o g e t h e r fragments of h u m a n life" (Watson 7). T h e p a t r i a r c h a l r e l e g a t i o n of d i s p a r a t e a n d t h r e a t e n i n g r e a l i t i e s is

fig u r e d in the m e n t a l i n s t i t u t i o n d i r e c t e d b y the f a t h e r of both O e d i p u s and the n a r r a t i n g "I," w h o is male. T h e "I" b oth v o i c e s the a u t h o r i t y of the subject w r i t i n g w i t h i n

i n h e r i t e d c o n s t r u c t i o n s of the p a t e r n a l metaphor, and e x p o s e s the m y t h o s of its h i e r a r c h i c a l b i n a r i e s as ide a l i t i e s t r a n s g r e s s e d b y cross realities. O e d i p u s is r e p r e s e n t e d as the h e r o c h a i n e d b y fate to c o n s t r u c t i o n b y his mother, w h o p a s s e s on the L a w - o f - t h e - F a t h e r , a n d the wife, w h o reifies the laws of the m u n i c i p a l i t y . A c c o r d i n g to Oedipus, a s s e r t i n g h i m s e l f p s y c h o a n a l y t i c a l l y , the

" i n d i v i d u a l u n c o n s c i o u s s c orns such c o m p l i c a t i o n s " (Watson 18). F e m a l e s u b j e c t i v i t y m a s q u e r a d e s in the fig u r e s o f his mother, wife, cou s i n s A n t i g o n e a n d I s m e n e — all in m a r g i n a l r e l a t i o n to the p a t e r n a l m etaphor, w h o s e d o m i n a n c e is un d e r

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er a s u r e in all four pieces. Female s u b j e c t i v i t y m a s q u e r a d e s in W a t s o n ' s f i g u r a l i z a t i o n of O e d i p u s h i m s e l f and his

a t t e m p t s at r e c o n n e c t i n g wi t h the feminine.

Oe d i p u s figures al s o in the m o d e r n m y t h s of

psycho a n a l y s i s , bo t h r e c o n s t r u c t i n g and d e c o n s t r u c t i n g the p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r of t h e s y m b o l i c order. As ” l"'s u ncle

roars in "The R u m b l e S e a t , " w a t c h i n g O e d i p u s on the

t e l e v i s i o n as he r e s p o n d s to the i n t e r v i e w e r ' s a n t i q u a t e d q u e s t i o n s on the p o s s i b i l i t y of faith in a faith l e s s world:

M u s t w e . . . l i v e b y the c lock a f t e r the c l o c k - m a k e r has b e e n sacked? A r e we a m e c h a n i c a l sequence, an

o r g a n i z e d s e r i a l i t y ? . . . .We float, we flood, we flounder. F i n a l l y we are redundant. (Watson 55) T h e "I" v o i c e s an " O e d i p a l " p r o t e s t a g a i n s t the pat e r n a l m e t a p h o r a n d its r e c o n s t r u c t i o n s of g e n d e r p o s i t i o n i n g in the p l o t / m y t h o s of the family romance. W a t s o n ' s linking narratives, in t h e i r d e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the p a ternal

metaphor, fig u r e fe m a l e s u b j e c t i v i t y as the r e s i s t a n c e of the f e m i n i n e a l l u d e d to in the O e d i p a l subject. D e s i r e for the Mother, the incest t a b o o to w h i c h t h ese linking

n a r r a t i v e s a l l u d e is, as J u lia K r i s t e v a tells in

" S h a t t e r i n g the F a m i l y , " a "me e t i n g w i t h the other, the first other, the m o t h e r " (De s i r e in L a n g u a g e 191). W a t s o n ' s linking narratives, like t h o s e e x e m p l i f i e d by the linking n a r r a t i v e s o f M u n r o a n d W o o l f are f i g u r a t i o n s of the

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splitting "I" of the female w r i t i n g subject, whose

c o n s t r u c t i o n ooth complies w ith and c r i t i q u e s the p a t e r n a l m e t a p h o r of language and culture.

Writers of c o u r s e use the l i t e r a r y c o n v e n t i o n s of their time a n d place, which are g o v e r n e d b y s h i f t i n g

a s s u m p t i o n s about r e a l i s m a n d d e f i n i t i o n s of genre. Ideas about what is real a r e p r o b lematic; t h e y c h a n g e not o n l y a c c o r d i n g to the s h i f t i n g e p i s t e m o l o g i e s of h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o d s but a l s o a c c o r d i n g to p a r t i c u l a r i t i e s w i t h i n periods. Generally, n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y r e a l i s m a s s u m e d a m e a s u r a b l e e x t e r n a l reality, a n d " c o n f i d e n c e in the

r e p r o d u c i b i l i t y of an o b j e c t i v e l y p r e s e n t w o rld" w h i c h is not " r e l a t i v i z e d as the product of s u b j e c t i v e

c o n s c i o u s n e s s " (Felski 60-81). M o d e r n i s m ' s r e s p o n s e in the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y to this c o n c e p t o f a stable e x t e r n a l r e a l i t y is a "retreat into self; an e x i s t e n t i a l c o n c e p t of the [autonomous] subject as sole g u a r a n t o r of m e a n i n g "

(Felski 81). The later t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y r e s p o n s e of p o s t ­ m o d e r n i s m sees b o t h subject a n d o b ject as unstable,

u n a u t o n o m o u s i d e o l o g i c a l constructs.

Bot h the r e a l i s t i c novel a n d the c e n t e r e d subject, a c c o r d i n g to Fredric Jameson, are i d e o l o g i c a l

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stable, k n o wable e x t e r n a l reality, and then a t w e n tieth- c e n t u r y b e l i e f in an a u t o n o m o u s inner s e l f through wh i c h m e a n i n g can be m e a s u r e d (Political U n c o n scious 152-153). B ot h p r e - m o d e r n and m o d e r n i s t views of the real a s s u m e d an e s s e n t i a l wholeness, or u n i f i e d rea l i t y that c o u l d be

appr e h e n d e d . T h e p o s t - m o d e r n i s t departure, on the other hand, s t r esses a d e c e n t e r e d subject wh o s e v i e w s of what is real are c o n s t r u c t s d e t e r m i n e d b y an un s t a b l e flux of

s i g n i f i c a t i o n i n c l u d i n g g e n d e r co d e s c o m p r i s e d by b oth d o m i n a n t a n d s u b v e r s i v e im p u l s e s w i t h i n the s y m bolic order. W h e r e a s m o d e r n i s m a s s u m e s it can r e p l i c a t e experience,

p c ü u - m o d e r n i s m ho l d s that the w r i t i n g con s t r u c t s v i e w s of experi e n c e . P o s t - m o d e r n i s t c o n c e p t s of r e a l i t y refuse both b o u n d a r i e s of realist forms and t r a d i t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s of genre, d r a w i n g a t t e n t i o n to the c o n s t r u c t e d n e s s o f the w r i t i n g itself.

The p o s i t i o n of w o m e n w r i t i n g w i t h i n these

e p i s t e m o l o g i c a l s h : f t s a l s o r e f l e c t s t h e i r m a r g i n a l i t y in the p o l i t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n s of imperial c e n t r e to c o l o n y a n d the g e n d e r o p p o s i t i o n s of m a l e a n d female. A c c o r d i n g to L o r n a Irvine, t e x t s w r i t t e n from p e r s p e c t i v e s that a r e d o u b l y n o n - h e g e m o n i c in te r m s of g e n d e r and c o l o n i a l i s m mo s t fu l l y d e m o n s t r a t e the ways in w h i c h w o m e n stand b oth o u t s i d e and inside d o m i n a n t forms o f l i t e r a t u r e and

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society. T h e s e texts often e m p l o y s u b v e r s i v e strategies congruent w i t h the p a r a d o x i c a l p o s i t i o n wh i c h m a y be one of b o t h p r i v i l e g e a n d n o n - p rivilege. A l t h o u g h

m a s c u l i n e p e r s p e c t i v e s o v e r t l y d o m i n a t e culture, wo m e n h ave d e v e l o p e d h i g h l y s o p h i s t i c a t e d s t r a t e g i e s for survival. In fact, as n e w l y r e i s s u e d a n d o u t - o f - p r i n t texts reveal, a n d f r o m the careful textual feminist a n a l y s e s that a c c o m p a n y th e i r resurrection, s u b v e r s i v e stories s e e m to c h a r a c t e r i z e female t e x t s . . . . [S]uch s u b v e r s i o n e f f e c t s a fictional b r e a k - d o w n of reif i e d m a l e p e r s p e c t i v e s a n d often r e v e a l s a story that d r a m a t i z e d the a u t h o r i t y of female

c h a r a c t e r s . . . . [S]uch r e v i s e d r e a d i n g s ... suggest c h a n g e s in l i t e r a r y d e f i n i t i o n s of r e a l i s m itself.

(Irvine S u b / v e r s i o n 5-6)

L i n k i n g n a r r a t i v e s are a p p r o p r i a t e v e h i c l e s for the " i m p u l s e " to d o c u m e n t a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l e x p e r i e n c e that m a y go a g a i n s t the i d e o l o g i c a l g r ain? of p u b l i c consciousness. T h e c a p a c i t y of C a n a d i a n w o m e n ' s lin k i n g n a r r a t i v e s to b o t h reify a n d resist the p o s i t i o n of the f e m a l e subject ma r k s t h e i r " a m a z i n g p o s s i b i l i t i e s " in t r a n s g r e s s i n g the

c o n v e n t i o n a l g e n r e s of b o t h novel a n d short story. L i n k i n g short n a r r a t i v e s by w o m e n o f f e r w a y s of reading

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of t h e g e n d e r e d subject w h o s e d o u b l e d e x p e r i e n c e c o m p r i s e s the p a r a d o x i c a l m o v e both a w a y f r o m a n d t o w a r d s a s y m b o l i c w h o l e — a p a r a d o x i c a l d e s i r e for what is real a c c o r d i n g to the laws of c u l t u r e and l a n guage and the t r a n s g r e s s i v e a c c o m m o d a t i o n of d i f f e r e n c e f r o m them.

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S t o r i e s of Genre

A c c o r d i n g to C h r i s t i n a Brooke-Rose, '"story' has now b e c o m e a star w o r d in c r i t i c a l t h e o r y for the

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of 'things': history, criticism, chemistry, physics, sociology, p s y c h o a n a l y s i s or philosophy, all are s to r i e s we tell o u r s e l v e s to u n d e r s t a n d the /orld" (Brooke- R ose 5). F o r m e r l y s e l f - e n c l o s e d c a t e g o r i e s of thought have t a k e n on the status of discourse, e q u a l l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of the i d e o l o g i c a l or d e r that l e g i t i m i z e s them, and like

" s t o r i e s " in t r a d i t i o n a l g e n r e ' s sense of fiction, are e q u a l l y fictional, even t h o u g h t h e y "purport to represent the real":

but what does this m e a n ? Is the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n in e x c e s s of the real (Aristotle), or less than the real

( P l a t o ) , or doe s it m e r e l y r e o r g a n i z e the real? T h e s e are anc i e n t questions, but we are still asking them, not just of the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s (stories) in general, but a l s o of the v e r y d i s c o u r s e s (stories) that purport to a n a l y z e stories, stories of people, stories of p e o p l e r e a d i n g stories of people, stories of people r e a d i n g stories of the world. (Brooke-Rose 16)

The ancient q u e s t i o n s B r o o k e - R o s e calls a t t e n t i o n to in h e r d e - c a t e g o r i z a t i o n of d i s c i p l i n e s into d i s c o u r s e a r i s e f r o m the concept of m i m e s is as it was f o r m u l a t e d b y P l a t o a n d recast b y Ar i s t o t l e . As genre theorist H e a t h e r D u b r o w p o i n t s out, s u b s e q u e n t to Plato " g enre t h e o r y

f r e q u e n t l y reads like a s e ries of f o o t n o t e s " to A r i s t o t l e a n c o n c e p t s of m i m e s i s (Dubrow 47). However, as G é r a r d G e n e t t e d em o n s t r a t e s , the o n l y p e r f e c t i m i t a t i o n is the thing

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itself; its representation, or m i m e s i s , is n e c e s s a r i l y imperfect, a n d t h e r e f o r e d i e q e s i s , or an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

("Boundaries of N a r r a t i v e " 5-6). A n y h i e r a r c h y of g e nres p r i v i l e g i n g m i m e s i s is thus destabi l i z e d . If no d i s c o u r s e

is m o r e m i m e t i c than another, then linking narratives, including essays, sketches, a n d a u t o b i o g r a p h y as w e l l as what has b e e n c o n v e n t i o n a l l y d e s i g n a t e d as fiction, are as v a l i d a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n as the t r a d i t i o n a l genres of novel, d rama and poetry. F r o m the site of this age, the c o n c e r n w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i o n that in part f r ames this st u d y

a d d r e s s e s the ancient q u e s t i o n of m i m e s i s — that is, the r e l a t i o n s h i p of the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n to wha t is represented, in this case, the r e l a t i o n s h i p of C a n a d i a n linking

n a r r a t i v e s b y A n n a Jameson, Sara J e a n n e t t e D u n c a n a n d M a v i s Gallant to the f e m a l e s u b j e c t s t h e y represent.

J a m e s o n 's W i n t e r S t u d i e s a n d S u m m e r Rambles (1838) links short n a r r a t i v e s of letter, s k etch a n d essay,

p r o d u c i n g w h a t she calls a " d e s u l t o r y ” narrative. But these fragm e n t s are l i nked by the " s u b j e c t i v e thread" of the

f i r s t - p e r s o n n a r r a t i o n w h i c h e f f e c t s the r e s i s t a n c e of R o m a n t i c i s m to the c o m m u n i t y of t r a d i t i o n a l d i s c o u r s e w i t h i n w h i c h she writes. D u n c a n ' s q u a r t e t of A n g l o - I n d i a n stories, T h e Pool in the D e s e r t (1903), resists the

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R u d y a r d K i p l i n g ' s tales, using the d e v i c e of the ironic "I" n a r r a t o r to e f f e c t a s u b v e r s i v e figure of the female

subject in r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of the memsahib. T h e "I" n a r r a t o r of the Linnet M u i r s e q u e n c e of M a v i s G a l l a n t ’s Ho m e T r u t h s (1982) rep r e s e n t s a female subject both

c o n s t r u c t e d b y and resis t a n t to h i s t o r y and p s y c h o l o g y in the m i d - t w e n t i e t h century, and for w h o m the maternal,

p a r a d o x i c a l l y , is a " s e rious ele m e n t of d a n g e r . " All three lin k i n g n a r r a t i v e s effect an ironic i n t e r t e x t u a l i t y wh i c h b o t h c o m p l i e s w i t h a n d s u b v e r t s the a u t h o r i t y of the

i d e o l o g i c a l s t a t u s quo. W h i l e r e i f y i n g the c o m m u n i t y of d i s c o u r s e s w i t h i n w h i c h t hey are written, the linking n a r r a t i v e s of Jameson, Dunc a n a n d Gal l a n t are

r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s i n t e r p r e t i n g the f e male subject's recusancy, r e s i s t i n g laws of b o t h g e n d e r and genre.

Th i s d i s s e r t a t i o n e v o l v e d f r o m m y con t i n u i n g interest in the short s t o r y for m and my s c h o l a r l y b a c k g r o u n d in C a n a d i a n literature. M y d o c t o r a l c o u r s e w o r k and

i n d e p e n d e n t s t u d y p r o v i d e d me w i t h the t h e o r e t i c a l m e a n s to shape the a p p r o a c h to reading texts that frames this

e x p l o r a t i o n o f C a n a d i a n linking n a r r a t i v e s by women. I was d r a w n to link i n g n a r r a t i v e s as the sub j e c t of my

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C a n a d i a n li t e r a t u r e of the n i n e t e e n t h a n d twen t i e t h c enturies. In m y e x t e n s i v e s u r v e y of C a n a d i a n short

stories, I kept b u m p i n g into texts that w e r e c a l l e d short sto r i e s or prose but wer e p u b l i s h e d in g r o u p s to w h i c h they a d h e r e d b oth f o r mally a n d thematically. Some of these

linking n a r r a t i v e te x t s h a d b e e n b r o k e n into a n d i n d i v i d u a l n a r r a t i v e s e x t r a c t e d for s e p a r a t e p u b l i c a t i o n . O t h e r s I e n c o u n t e r e d had b e e n p u b l i s h e d as novels. This

i d i o s y n c r a t i c t r e a t m e n t of l i n k i n g n a r r a t i v e s speaks to the d o m i n a n c e of c o n v e n t i o n a l g e n e r i c c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s of novel a n d short story, a n d t h e i r v a l u a t i o n as p r i v i l e g e d r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l forms. M y p r o j e c t on l i n k i n g n a r r a t i v e s b y A n n a Jameson, Sara J e a n n e t t e D u n c a n a n d M a v i s Gal l a n t b u i l d s on W.H. N e w ' s t h e o r y that c h a r a c t e r i s t i c in the d e v e l o p m e n t of the short st o r y in C a n a d i a n l i t e r a t u r e f rom the e a r l y n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y to the p r e s e n t a r e b r e a k s f r o m " c o n v e n t i o n a l th e o r i e s " of "'wholeness,' 'unity,' 'nation'" in a "m o v e a w a y f r o m tne d o m i n a n c e of r e c e i v e d c u l t u r a l f o r m s . . . t h a t

[has] c o n s e q u e n t l y a l l o w e d s p eech t h r o u g h forms of f r a c t u r e " (Dreams of S p e e c h a n d V i o l e n c e x ) . A l t h o u g h l i n k i n g sh o r t n a r r a t i v e s by w o m e n w r i t e r s b o t h c h a l l e n g e a n d resist the " c o d e s a n d forms of the d o m i n a n t l a n g u a g e "

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sees it, r e c l a m a t i o n of la n g u a g e and l i t e r a r y f o r m but how lin k i n g n a r ratives by these w o m e n w r i t e r s repre s e n t t h e i r p a r a d o x i c a l collu s i o n a n d c o l l i s i o n w i t h d o m i n a n t

c o n s t r u c t i o n s of g e n r e a n d gender.

T h e texts I focus on h e r e d r e w m y a t t e n t i o n i n i t i a l l y b e c a u s e th e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s of the female subject s e emed d i s c o n t i n u o u s with those d o m i n a n t in •‘h eir res p e c t i v e

p eriods. Secondly, these texts w e r e all w r i t t e n b y w o m e n in n o n - h e g e m o n i c p o s i t i o n s of g e o g r a p h i c e x i l e — A n n a Brownell Jameson, the Bri t i s h feminist in U p p e r Canada; Sara

J e a n n e t t e Duncan, the C a n a d i a n co l o n i a l in Angl o - I n d i a ; and M a v i s Gallant, the e x p a t r i a t e C a n a d i a n in Paris, I was

d r a w n a l s o to the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l d e l i n e a t i o n s in the f e m a l e s u b jects that narrate their

texts, a n d the relevance, if any, of th e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s for the lin k i n g n a r r a t i v e form.

T h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n is i n t e n d e d not o n l y to e x t e n d

e x i s t i n g w o r k on C a n a d i a n lin k i n g n a r r a t i v e s a n d wri t i n g by w o m e n but a l s o to c o n t r i b u t e to the r e l a t i v e l y recent and g r o w i n g b o d y of feminist l i t e r a r y t h e o r y a n d c r i t i c i s m on C a n a d i a n literature. A c c o m p a n y i n g this inte n t i o n is the d e s i r e that the t h e o r e t i c a l a p p r o a c h to b o t h texts a n d s u b j e c t s set out in the d i s s e r t a t i o n b o t h r e p r e s e n t s and c o n t r i b u t e s to the late t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y m u l t i ­

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d i s c i p l i n a r y shift in t h e o r y and p r a c t i c e tow a r d s the

p r i v i l e g i n g of d i f f e r e n c e , w h i c h is s i g n i f i c a n t not o n l y for l i t e r a r y studies, but also for p o s t - c o l o n i a l

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E n d N o t e s to the I n t r o d u c t i o n

’ Struthers' thesis points to the theoretical consideration of the generic transgressiveness of the story cycle that my project emphasizes; his thesis also draws attention to the relation in Canadian literature of the story cycle to "quasi- fictional collections, autobiographies, and discontinuous long poems" (32). However, Struthers' thesis maintains a view of the form which maintains adherence to modernist assumptions of unity. Although he takes issue with Forrest Ingram's categorization of

"composed," "completed," and "arranged" cycles, depending on authorial and or editorial intention (Struthers 16-17), he adopts Forrest Ingram's basic premise of the unity principle, applying it to the four contemporary cycles he deals with in his thesis: Hugh Hood's Around the Mountain; Jack Hodgins' Spit Delaney's Island; Clark Blaise's A North American Education; Alice Munro's Who Do You Think You A r e ? . He concludes that each of these story cycles "is governed by a unifying myth" (265-266).

“ See Derrida, "The Law of Genre."

^ For recent considerations of the blurring of generic distinctions between factual and fictional autobiography, see also Liz Stanley, 1990; Renza 1980; Eakin 1985.

‘’On the female autobiographical self as "other," see Mason; Julia Watson; Stanton, ed.

^ The autobiographical impulse of documentary characterized by Stephen Scobie as "alterity"— where the writing subject

identifies itself as a mirrored persona in terms of an objective factual other— is relevant in a range of Canadian texts. Their production in the context of colonial and post-colonial identity

(Scobie "Amelia" 276) applies equally as well to women's texts. According to Domna Stanton, "because of woman's different status in the symbolic order," autobiographical forms from the tenth to the twentieth centuries "dramatized the fundamental alterity and non-presence of the [female] subject, even as it asserts itself discursively and strives toward an always impossible self- possession" (Stanton 15).

® For an ontological and androcentric treatment of

autobiography see Olney, Metaphors of Self 1972. For feminist reconsiderations of both autobiography and bildungsroinan see Nussbaum 1989; Jelinek 1980; Abel 1983; Labovitz 1986; Buss 1993; Duplessis 1985.

^ Showalter's earlier ground-breaking work on literature by women, A Literature of Their Own (1977), nevertheless places

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women's writing in a sub-culture within the mainstream of male literary culture, while rejecting previous critical assumptions that applied male-centred cultural and literary criteria to women's writing. According to Toril Moi, Showalter's analysis in A Literature of Their Own of a tradition of nineteenth-and

twentieth-century women's writing perpetuates humanist and

patriarchal assumption of a unified self, extending it to a view of women's writing that locates it in terms of the marginalised position of che feminine (Moi Sexual/Textual Politics 1-8).

However, although Showalter's 1977 work maintains the traditional binaries of centre/margin and male/female, this work is important for establishing a tradition of British women's writing in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

“ Freud's narrative of female development, a paradigmatic blldunq of the female subject, "Some Psychical Consequences of the Anatomical Distinction Between the Sexes" was published in 1925. See Gay, ed. The Freud Reader, 670-678.

^ My discussion refers to Grove's original typescript. Beneath its table of contents, which lists four groups of

narratives. Grove states that the work was to be published as he intended, in the arrangement of groups specified. As Robin

Mathews has pointed out, Desmond Pacey, in the preparation for an edition of Grove's selected stories "edited Grove's original gathering, dropped some works Grove had included and added some short pieces Grove had written later. He published the end result as Tales From the Margin, with a considerable and careful

introduction" (Mathews 185).

10

See Freud, "Family Romances," in Gay, ed. 297-300. “ Privileging difference in post-colonial social and

political structures evokes Derrida's psycholinguist!c concept of différence. See Derrida, "From 'Différence'" in A Derrida Reader; Between the Blinds, ed. Peggy Kamuf: 59-79. According to Kamuf, "Derrida's invented word...welds together difference and deferral and thus refers to a configuration of spatial and temporal

difference together. As for the -ance ending, it calls up a middle voice between the active and passive voices" (59),

According to Derrida's explication of his term, différence is the operation of writing in language, which is a system of

differences, with no originary presence. It may be thought of simplistically as the "unconscious" of the word. Drawing on Freud's theory of the subject and his formulation of the operation of desire in the pleasure principle, Derrida says:

If the displaced presentation remains definitively and implacably postponed, it is not that a certain present remains absent or hidden. Rather, différence maintains our relationship with that which we necessarily misconstrue.

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and which exceeds the alternative of presence and absence. A certain alterity— to which Freud gives the metaphysical name of the unconscious— is definitively exempt from every process of presentation by means of which we would call upon it to show itself in person. In this context, and beneath this guise, the unconscious is not, as we know, a hidden, virtual, or potential self-presence. It differs from and defers, itself; which doubtless means that it is woven of differences, and also that it sends out delegates, representatives, proxies, but without any chance that the giver of proxies might "exist," might be present, be

"itself" somewhere, and with even less chance that it might become conscious (73).

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C h a p t e r One

C a n a d i a n L i n k i n g N a r r a t i v e s a n d the F e m a l e "I'

T h e F r a g m e n t i n g Form

W.H. N e w ' s c o m p a r a t i v e st u d y o f the short s t o r y in C a nada a n d N e w Zealand, D r e a m s of S p eech a n d V i o l e n c e

{1987), a s s e r t s that t h e d o u b l e d c o l o n i a l p e r s p e c t i v e on reality finds short n a r r a t i v e forms such as the sketch, the tale, the e s s a y a n d the s t o r y a p p r o p r i a t e v e h i c l e s for an i r onic r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of bot h c o m p l i c i t y wit h and c r i t i c i s m of the status quo.^ Ne w ' s v i e w of the

" d i s t i n c t i v e n e s s of m i x " in C a n a d i a n cu l t u r a l a n d li t e r a r y forms sees short n a r r a t i v e in g e n e r a l and l inking short n a r r a t i v e in p a r t i c u l a r as m e t h o d s of e x p r e s s i n g the s i m u l t a n e i t y of " C o n t i n u i t y / d i s c o n t i n u i t y : c o n n e c t i o n / f r a g m e n t a t i o n " c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of C a n a d a in its i n t ernal r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n d i s p a r a t e r e g i o n a l e n t i t i e s and its e x t e r n a l re l a t i o n s w i t h d o m i n a n t p o l i t i c a l a n d l i t e r a r y m o d e l s w h i c h it v a r i o u s l y b o t h e m u l a t e s a n d eschews. By the 1960s a n d 1970s,

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