<p>This thesis examines the plays of Harold Pinter through his use of basic pre-literary theatrical techniques. The techniques are specifically outlined in terms of such pre-literary theatricals as Punch and Judy puppet shows and vaudeville variety acts. The thesis contends that Harold Pinter's drama is directly based on standard theatrical elements, and can be understood more precisely according to them than in accordance with literary modes or terms such as allegory, imagery, metaphor or symbolism.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The paper which follows develops from the apparent divergence in concerns and intentions between Cooper's Leatherstocking Tales and the remainder of his works. Such divergence has led Parrington and others to perceive "two Coopers" instead of one. By tracing the development of the hero within the Leatherstocking Tales, this paper attempts to reconcile these divergencies; realize the fullness of the myth; and isolate the principal concern which informs all of Cooper's work.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis is a study of the isolated heroine in Margaret Laurence's Manawaka novels. A number of factors contribute to her isolation, including her sense of separation from self, her sense of alienation from the environment in which she lives, and a struggle to come to terms with the influences which her sense of the past exerts on her personality. The pattern of personal development from a position of weakness and alienation to a position of self-understanding and responsibility is common to all four of Margaret Laurence's Manawaka heroines. Each heroine survives and achieves a sense of personal freedom, which Laurence has described as the central concern of her works.1 This search for a significant life and a real sense of responsibility arise out of the experience of isolation, an experience which can be seen as Canadian, nut at the same. time universal, a frequent concern in works of the twentieth century.<br /><br />The present study will investigate the phenomena of isolation and alienation and the resultant development of a 'survival' ethic, which is in some ways analogous to the existentialist concept of the outsider, which appears in much twentieth-century literature. It is almost inevitable that a twentieth-century writer will have come, at some time, under the influence of existentialist thought. Much twentieth-century literature, as well as philosophy, sociology, and psychology, is concerned with the problem of isolation. There is no way in which Margaret Laurence could be unaware of isolation as a personal and literary problem, and while I do not intend to argue that her Manawaka novels are solely existentialist, they are works produced by someone whose childhood years were spent in an isolated town in the Canadian prairies, and whose crucial early years as a writer were spent as “outsider who experienced a seven year love affair with a continent, but woo in the end had to remain in precisely that relationship.”2 The concerns with isolation and alienation and the search for truth or meaning which produced the outsider in other literature are certainly present in Canadian literature, so it is not surprising that Laurence's heroines exhibit characteristics typical of people who find themselves alone. <br /><br />This thesis, then, concerns the psychological and emotional journey of the isolated heroine as she struggles with alienation from her environment and with personal loneliness and isolation to achieve a deeper understanding of life and a fuller appreciation of it. In a sense, what follows is a study of a vision of life which allows the protagonist to reach an understanding of herself as a culmination of her own personal past, her ancestral history, and her present situation. Laurence's isolated heroines learn to face life's sorrows and its beauties, and to use their knowledge to' achieve a fuller and deeper appreciation of life, to act with courage and responsibility, and to survive with hope and dignity. Throughout I will consider other critical appraisals of Margaret Laurence's work and will also indicate, where appropriate, similarities between the situations of her heroines and the behaviour and environments of the existentialist outsider.<br /><br /><br /></p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>Our thesis quests for unity. Under such a hue we will investigate Patrick White's novel, Riders in the Chariot, by analyzing its structure, the texture of the language, and the subject matter.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis examines the writings of Sylvia Plath from the point of view of a "schizoid diagnosis". The theories of three British ego-psychologists, W.R.D. Fairbairn, D.W. Winnicott, and H. Gunstrip, provide the psychoanalytic framework. Working within the theory of object relations and by focusing attention on early childhood ego development, they have contributed many remarkable insights into the 'motives' behind hurran activity.</p> <p>The only collection published during the poet's lifetime, The Colossus; the three postumous volumes, Crossing the Water, Winter Trees and Ariel; and the autobiographical novel, The Bell Jar, are examined chronologically to reveal the clear development of a schizoid perspective in Sylvia Plath's art. Her writings are shot through with an intense libidinal attachhment to self-destruction, and point to the desperate attempts of a weak ego struggling to be born. In the end the violence of the false, destructive strategies of survival she chose becarre self-directed, and suicide resulted.</p> <p>Sylvia Plath became mythologized with her death. A literary romanticization of suicide characterizes most critical studies on the poet. This thesis takes issue at some length with the influential British author, A. Alvarez, in particular, whose writings on the "extremist poets" have shaped in a most damaging way any critical perspective on Sylvia Plath in the decade following her death.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the artitistic and intellectual maturation of Henry James as reflected in his portrayals of the "villainous" personality -- the evil character. Attention is given to the major novels of each phase; the thesis follows a chronological outline. Such a study is not unduly unprecedented, nor is it unwarrantably repetitious. To date there has been no inclusive critical or systematic evaluation of James's vilains per se. Syndy Conger's brief note on The Wings of the Dove (1971) is concerned exclusively with that novel, and J. A. Ward's perceptive study, The Imagination of Disaster (1961) focuses not on the concept of villainy, but on "the complex of forces, internal and external Which prevents the individual from moving toward completion. ^"1</p> <p>In a study of this scope both space and time inevitably exert some irresistible pressure. As such, my choice of novels has been necessarily selective. Those chosen to represent the early and middle phases do, I believe, speak for themselves. The conspicuous absence of The Ambassadors and The Golden Bowl in the late period, however, may require some words of explanation. It is my contention that the former novel does not have any villainous characters, and is therefore irrelevant to my present purposes. On the other hand, though, while The Golden Bowl does possess the villainous Prince Amerigo and Charlotte Stant, these characters nevertheless emerge as reworked or "recast" characters in the same mould as Kate Croy and Merton Densher. The little departure marked by The Golden Bowl from The Wngs of the Dove lies in the living victory of its heroine, Maggie Verver, in contrast to the death-triumph of the earlier Milly Theale. The Golden Bowl, then, appears to be a similar study in terms of the villainous personality to that of The Wings of The Doves, and, as such, my discussion in Chapter III deals exclusively with the earlier novel.</p> <p>One final note must be made in regard to the works dealt with in the following pages. "The Turn of the Screw" -- largely because of its train of critical controversy -- has been assigned to an appendix, a section detached in part from the rant and fustian of the critical heritage.</p> <p>I should like to conclude these prefatory remarks with the necessary acknowledgements: I thank Dean Alwyn Berland for his assistance throughout the preparation of this thesis which is derived, in part, from a paper a paper presented in his graduate seminar on the modern novel. I extend my gratitude to Dr Norman Shrive for having taken time to read the original manuscript. Finally I wish to thank Gary A. Boire for his invaluable help during the writing of this thesis.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the place of Tristram Shandy in the development of realism in the English novel. It sets up two categories of realism, mimetic realism and autonomous realism, and demonstrates how sterne parodies the ideas of the first, and sets up an autonomous reality in his novel. By examining the techniques Sterne uses to present this special, avant-garde kind of realism, and how he treats its implications, this thesis hopes to explore fully an aspect of Tristram Shandy hitherto neglected, and to provide a new perspective on the novel.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to examine the full complexity of the religious dimensions in the fiction of J. D. Salinger. Especial attention is given to the author's syncretism and interest in the area where different religious and philosophical frameworks coincide.</p> <p>The Introduction includes a biographical outline and also correlates the views of critics who have discussed various aspects of Salinger's religious concerns. The following three chapters show the development of his method of incorporating religious ideas into his writing, isolate his major concerns, and analyse the ideas around which the works are structured. A discussion of "Teddy" forms part of the conclusion, since this short story in many ways offers a summation of Salinger's thought.</p> <p>While focusing on the religious dimension of Salinger's works, this study does not neglect the multiple ironies and ambiguities present in his fiction, maintaining the perspective that they are products of the creative artistic imagination rather than treatises of systematic theology.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)