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In this study of narration, feminist theory, and grotesque Canadian fiction, my aim is to provide a narrative model with which to read characters portrayed as both female and monstrous in a way that criticism on the grotesque does not. I provide two systems for the methodology of this study: via negativa, a well-established philosophical system of definition by negation, which shows the strength of the grotesque to represent a subject that is inherently paradoxical; and a narrative model called the "middle voice," which I developed to examine narratives that confuse or render ambiguous the identity of subjects. Through these distinct but complementary frameworks I illustrate a literary phenomenon in fiction of the grotesque: that authors develop and reveal the subjectivity of characters by confounding identities. / Although I provide a concise definition of the term "grotesque," my focus is on feminist theoretical approaches to the grotesque. However, whereas feminist theory on the grotesque examines the binary opposition of woman to man, this study shows that the grotesque bypasses the "male/female" dichotomy in the representation of fictional characters. Instead, the sustained contradiction of the central opposition "woman/monster" works to undermine the notion of fictional characterization. / Specifically, this study focuses on the grotesque as a narrative strategy and examines the use of the grotesque in the portrayal of female narrators. The prevalence of female grotesque characters in recent Canadian fiction combined with the rapid growth of interest in the critical concept of the "female grotesque" requires a theoretical analysis of the literature. / In the fiction I examine by Canadian authors Margaret Atwood, Lynn Coady, Barbara Gowdy, Alice Munro, and Miriam Toews, narrators are contradictory. As subjects, they have doubled identities. Authors situate identity ("subjectivity") in the realm of paradox, rather than in the realm of clarity and resolution. As a result, readers and critics must rely on ambiguity and subversion as guides when posing the ultimately irresolvable question "who is speaking?" Through analysis of this fiction, then, I argue for nothing short of a new conceptualization of subjectivity.

The grotesque is an unsettled notion which is difficult to define. Over the years, there have been several attempts to formulate a satisfactory definition. Today, a few definitions prevail, namely that proposed by Hugo, Bakhtine and Kayser. In my opinion, the latter is the most appropriate for the analysis of the grotesque in Barbey d'Aurevilly's Diaboliques . / Indeed, Wolfgang Kayser's theory of the grotesque is based on the idea of a world that has suddenly become "estranged". Barbey's "diabolical" characters are peculiar beings, both passionate and inscrutable, who by their actions and attitudes manage to overwhelm most characters of their universe. By their very mystery, the diaboliques remain deeply present in others' minds, thereby changing their existence forever. In Barbey's stories, there are no mythical beasts, no monstrous grotesque per se. However, when examined from Kayser's perspective, light is shed on the grotesque aspect of their characters.

By fusing many of the established hypotheses on the source of the grotesque in Irish literature, this study establishes that these writers' impatience with all boundaries and limitations, physical or mental, led them to exploit the indeterminacy of the grotesque to achieve their particular aesthetic and epistemological objectives. / After an initial chapter on the relevant theoretical and national considerations, the prodigious cloacal visions of Beckett and Joyce are compared, with emphasis on their use of the grotesque to demythologize the creative process. A fourth chapter compares O'Brien's and Beckett's exploitation of the grotesque to undermine hegemonic philosophical and epistemological systems. / Like most writers of the grotesque tradition, Joyce and O'Brien assume a degree of moral responsibility by affirming, explicitly or implicitly, some traditional or utopian values and standards, while Beckett's deliberations on the complex relationship between Nature, the mind and the body end in negation, impotence and the hope of silence.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Abstract and Acknowledgments in English. Includes bibliographical references (p. 256-265). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [281]-299).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universität Hamburg, 1984. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-245).