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.