The subject matter of this thesis is concerned with a series of novels written by Michel Tremblay referred to as "Les Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal"; and more specifically, it is limited to the first four in the series. In these, Tremblay deals with the phenomena of human nature as it unfolds between birth and death. The gradual emergence of the wholeness and uniqueness of the individual during this process is a major theme developed sequentially in these four novels. This has been clearly demonstrated and critically evaluated in this thesis both somatically by using Ovid's Theory of Metamorphosis and psychologically by using Jung's Theory of Individuation. It has been concluded as a result of such analyses; firstly, that the unfolding process of human nature is a central theme, and secondly, these four novels are importantly interrelated in the development of this theme.

In this study, the nineteen extant plays of Euripides are reviewed from a psychiatric point of view. This has not been done before, as few classicists have an intimate knowledge of modern psychology and psychiatry, and few psychiatrists have the requIsIte classIcal background. Two major areas of interest emerge: l.(a) The clinical descriptions of major psychiatric disorders found in some of these plays are astonishingly accurate by modern standards. The main examples are to be found in the Herakles (epilepsy), Hekabe (manic-depressive disease), Orestes (paranoia) as well as in some of the minor characters in other plays, particularly Kassandra (Troades, hysteria), Andromache (Troades, anankastic personality), Helene (Troades, histrionic-narcissistic personality), Hermione (Andromache, parasuicide), Euadne (Hiketides, schizophrenia). l.(b) Equally good descriptions can be found of characters which could nowadays not be regarded as suffering from a mental "disease" but are decidedly unusual and within the field of psychiatric endeavour. They are the main characters of the Medeia, Elektra and Hippolytos. l.(c) The remainder of the plays, with the exceptions of the Kyklops and the Rhesos which are discussed separately, contain astonishingly modern studies of the psychological motivation of ordinary people. These are the phenomena of role playing (Alkestis), ambivalence and the causes of irrational behaviour (Iphigeneia among the Taurians) , the morality of slogans (Herakleidai), the fight for social status (Andromache), guilt feelings (Phoinissai) , the causes of violence and war (Hike tides), the basic psychology of politics (lphigenia in Aulis), the contrast of religious and everyday morality (Helene), the adolescent's struggle for social and religious integration (Ion) and the search for social and religious integration in the adult (Bakchai). 2. Based on the above it is proposed that Euripides' main interest in writing his plays was in the search for human motivation: why do people behave in the (often ridiculous) way in which they do? In this he differs from Aischylos and also from the ideas of Aristotle. The main interest of the thesis lies in the way that when the plays are viewed from this angle virtually all the passages which have been severely criticised in the past suddenly make perfect sense. Many parts of the plays have been dubbed inept, irrelevant, contradictory or put in for effect only. Seen from the psychiatric point of view they all fulfil vital functions in their respective plays. Choral odes are not detached embolima; epilogues really solve the psychological problems of the play; humorous, patriotic, xenophobic and sophistic passages all have their reasons. Where there are contradictions they invariably arise from the fact that different characters have different approaches, or frequently the same character is torn between two possible approaches. Euripides himself hardly ever makes a definite statement but allows his characters to put forward the various points of view and the audience is invited to judge. In the process the audience itself often becomes the butt of the playwright's condemnation for they are frequently inveigled by this past master of deceit into adopting a premature stance on various issues which is later shown to be foolish, immoral or plain ridiculous. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, 1994.

The stage is a place where symbolic space and real space, symbolic time and real time are superimposed. The critical part of our thought process entitled La figure du chansonnier: resurgence du sujet, tries to examine the way singers (Gilles Vigneault as it happens) create a symbolic place where the risk of fusion between reality and symbolism is much lesser than in other art forms: therefore it is possible not to dissociate the singer as shown to the public and the I that both mark out and cover his work. We think this is a very soft way to work the stage, that values the union between the subject and his message. / On the other hand, theater through all its conventions more clearly defines the fusion between reality and symbolism and the risk involved with such an enterprise. Maybe the actor who is both symbolically and literally under the lights is in much greater danger than the singer of being irreconcilably and without an end exposed to that fusion of reality and symbolism. We think that art, which probably consists of creating a symbolic distancing, gets its greatest strength when its second will is in motion: achieving symbolism and then coming back to reality transformed (for the better). What interested us all through Marie-la-putain, the play which constitutes the creation part of our thesis is to investigate the grey zone where through the spotlight there is no going back to reality: we don't go back to reality, or if we do, it is with great difficulty. All through the play the heroine will on stage try to sacrifice a part of her she would not normally have. / The creation part, through Marie, is in fact the opposite of the critical part: it examines the stage as a place that allows disappropriation and dissolution.

Richard Serra's sculpture constitutes a political act through its analytical and operative strategies: analytical, when the work exposes the structures that frame our intersubjectivity, and operative, when the work acts as an example of resistance to the habitual acceptance of these structures. The significance of this oeuvre to architecture is that Serra's sculpture deliberately presents itself as something just shy of architecture, claiming its critical role to be that abandoned by--and proper to--architecture.

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In the works published by Valentin Kataev after 1966, his own past is reflected consistently. This tempts the reader and critic to interpret them as memoirs. However, such a label is too narrow and thus inaccurate. For Kataev, the past stimulates his imagination, and memory is the relentless, uncontrollable retriever of previous times. Rather than a factual resurrection of Kataev's past, his prose of this period is an adorned recreation. The critical "thaw", that followed Stalin's death, permitted the expression of sincere emotion in Soviet literature; sincere, in the sense that suffering that resulted from the implementation of the new plan could be revealed in prose and poetry. Kataev accepted this opportunity. In the stories that this study examines, Uzhe napisan Verter, Spiashchii, and Sukhoi liman, Kataev expresses how life from the past can remain and change for survivors in the present.

The works of Marcel Dube are a testimony of the French Canadian society's evolution, at a time when its cultural and social identity was being questioned. Beyond any doubt, his plays had a strong influence upon Quebecers during the fifties and sixties. Dube's dramatic works have instigated the interest of critics throughout Canada and also in the United States and Europe. / This thesis represents an analysis of five plays written by Marcel Dube giving clear indication of the universality of his works, particularly based on unpublished documents. These plays were written almost thirty years ago; nevertheless, they are still alive and applauded nowadays, which corroborates their universality. Also, on the unpublished recording tapes, actress Monique Miller, actor Jean Duceppe and author and critic Jean Ethier-Blais dwell precisely on the universality of Dube's works. Therefore I thought advisable to study this particular topic in the following plays: Zone, Florence, le temps des lilas, Bilan and Au retour des oies blanches. / On these unpublished recording tapes, Marcel Dube talks about himself and his life as a writer. We learn about his childhood, the beginning of his career, the people who surrounded and encouraged him, the social, cultural, and political environment that prevailed at the time he wrote his most famous plays. He also acknowledges his mistakes, his weaknesses, his ambitions and talks about the motives that prompted him to become a writer. / Furthermore, well known author and critic Jean Ethier-Blais expresses his ideas and feelings regarding the author and his works. Actors and personal friends Monique Miller and Jean Duceppe recollect the circumstances and the effect the dramatic art of Marcel Dube has had on French Canadian culture.

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This thesis examines the semi-autobiographical work of Maria Beig in the context of traditional and contemporary regional literature. It attempts to do justice to her work as a whole. The style and content of her work are discussed with reference to topics of literary theory relating to regional literature, such as the village novella, or anti-idyllic elements, to mention only those most discussed. A further emphasis of the thesis is the question of academic reception of regional literature, in relation to the genre generally and to Maria Beig's work--that of a "poeta non docta"--in particular. Finally there is a (short) discussion of "women's issues". Such a discussion cannot be omitted, as Maria Beig is a modern woman writer whose main characters are almost exclusively feminine, and whose texts often raise questions concerned with gender. / Included in the appendix are a transcript of an interview between Maria Beig and the author, and a self-written life story which Maria Beig made available to the author. These represent an indispensable aid to the reading and understanding of the thesis.

Although he has played a significant role in contemporary queer letters, the American novelist, essayist and biographer Edmund White has received little critical attention. This thesis examines White's autobiographical-fictive series of novels, focusing in particular on the account of a 1970s and early 1980s articulation of queer community in The Farewell Symphony. White's novels engage a post-structural critique of identity formation, literary affect and queer intimacies. The implications of this critique are addressed in this thesis both in an elaboration of a foucauldian genealogy of White and in an adaptation of the concerns of Roland Barthes's exploratory autobiography, Roland Barthes by Roland Barthes.