Synopses & Reviews
Duncan always wrote from the perspective of someone on the margin of power. Her position on the most important social issues of her day -- feminism, imperialism, nationalism, and racism -- challenged the received wisdom of the period. In her novels, however, Duncan's personal point of view is presented as if it were the social norm. Dean shows that Duncan's use of irony and her seemingly ambivalent attitude toward realism were influenced by her colonial perspective. In placing Duncan's work in the intellectual context of her Canadian, English, and American contemporaries, Dean displays considerable knowledge of the period she examines. In A Different Point of View -- a critical study of almost all Duncan's published and unpublished works: fiction, journalism, and plays -- Dean presents a new interpretation of Duncan, emphasizing the importance of her feminism and Canadian nationality in the creation of her fictional point of view.
Review
"Discriminating reading of secondary sources, sensitive analysis of the primary work, and successive insights add up to a new interpretation of Duncan's work. This book should be as widely read as any study concerned with Canadian Literature." Elizabeth Waterston, Department of English, University of Guelph.
Synopsis
Misao Dean argues convincingly that Duncan's "point of view" was largely informed by nineteenth-century Canadian idealism. Making excellent use of the latest insights of feminist criticism and post-colonial literary theory, Dean explores the "double marginalisation" of Duncan as both a colonial and a woman. She establishes gender as an important element in the form and content of Duncan's novels and feminism as a significant influence on Duncan's point of view.
Synopsis
Duncan always wrote from the perspective of someone on the margin of power.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. [179]-187) and index.