A paradigm of transcendence pervades Buell's novels,
imaginatively conceived from within a Catholic consciousness of
God's grace in effecting redemption. Safeguarding the Real
Presence from invidious sacrilege, Elizabeth Lucy in The Pyx
achieves heroic sanctity, losing her life to gain glory as a
martyr to her faith . The Eucharist also has centrality in the
lives of Stan Hagen and Martin Lacey in A Lot To Make Up For as
they share in the sacrificial oblation at mass. In Four Days,
sacred love suffuses profane love, the sanctity of human love
being yet another manifestation of God's presence in the world,
only to be tragically subverted by deception and self-interest.
Buell's Catholic consciousness is also noticeably present
in his thematic development of redemptive suffering. In
Playground, the narrative reveals that suffering is itself the
path to healing. The novel details Spence Morisons's suffering
toward what he trusts will be his deliverance, his redemption
taking the form of his conversion to a new self-realization
about the nature of his humanity. In The Shrewsdale Exit, on the
other hand, the need for conversion becomes apparent when Joe
Hagen surrenders to a desire for murderous vengeance. A
resolution is effected when Joe forsakes revenge, finding
deliverance in the assurance that justice will prevail.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/8890 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Ashworth, John Francis Raymond |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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