A Study Of The Escape Consciousness In Alasdair Gray's Poor Things

As a leading figure of the contemporary Scottish fiction,Alasdair Gray has given the Scottish Renaissance a great boost with his extraordinary literary imagination and creativity,leaving a profound impact on the younger generation of Scottish writers such as Janice Galloway.Poor Things is his second masterpiece after Lanark,his first well-known fiction.It tells a Victorian medical legend that brings a dying woman into life through a brain transplant.Bizarre and grotesque as it appears to be,it embodies strong social criticism and conveys a deep consciousness of escape.Based on the Escapism theory of Yi-Fu Tuan,this thesis analyzes the escape experiences of Bella and Baxter from two aspects:causes of escape and ways of escape,displaying women's struggle under patriarchy and the isolation of upright men under the exploitative capitalism.However,the escape presented by Gray is not negative or aloof from reality.Bella finally breaks away from the shackles of patriarchy and becomes a successful woman doctor as well as a Fabian.Baxter realizes his medical dream and social aspiration through Bella.Both of them actively combine their personal ideals and the social reality,composing a positive song of escape that aims at reshaping the self and reconstructing the nation,which also embodies Gray's blueprint for the escape of Scotland.The escape experiences of the two protagonists symbolize Scotland's escape from the political,economic and cultural oppression of the Union,rendering the escape of the text a profound historical and national sense.Furthermore,Gray's writing style also displays an escape consciousness.The gothic plot and non-linear narrative,as well the experimental and innovative language features,typography and illustration art,not only strengthen the social criticism but also highlight the individuality and great potential of Scottish literature.Through an analysis of the escape consciousness in this novel,this thesis takes consideration of the particular historical and cultural background of Scotland,expresses the social concern of Scottish writers led by Gray,as well as their firm upholding of Scottishness and active exploration of Scotland's future.