Gender,Class And Identity

Alice Munro,a Canadian woman writer,is the short-story master and recipient of Nobel Prize in 2013.Based upon rich space metaphors threading through her short stories,the thesis is analyzed by its focalization of space.By applying the space theories such as those of Henry Lefebvre and Michael Foucault,it explores the gender and class restriction in her short-story collection Who Do You Think You Are? Meanwhile,it also analyzes how the protagonist realizes her identity reconstruction in marginalized space.Metaphorical connotations of space are analyzed from three dimensions.From the angle of space and gender,private family space encloses the inequality between men and women and public space the education and career limitation.From the perspective of space and class,geographical spatialization between different classes within Hanratty is revealed and class conflicts are presented through the portrayal of characters from both Hanratty and the metropolis.The protagonist Rose,as a woman from the small town,is confronted with gender and class oppression.In the last two stories,the thesis explores the relation between space and identity.After Rose returns to her hometown,the protagonist gets rid of the shackle of her class and gender by space refiguration of the real and the imagined.She reestablishes her connection with her hometown and the locals so that her identity is recognized and reconciliation reached.The thesis argues that focusing on space in Munro's short stories is beneficial to reveal the political and cultural connotations related to gender,class and identity,which provides another alternative to read her works.Meanwhile,the analysis of symbols and references through literary space allows readers to deepen understandings of themes,denotations as well as social perceptions beyond the texts.