| dc.description.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. | |
