| This thesis explores the personal and spiritual evolution of poet, journalist, teacher, and fiction writer, Evelyn Eaton (1902-1983), through her novels and life-writing. Originally recognised for such successful historical fictions as Quietly My Captain Waits (1940), Restless Are The Sails (1941), and The Sea Is So Wide (1943), Eaton turned to the more marginalized but personal form of 'life-writing' after discovering her aboriginal background. In a series of books, Snowy Earth Comes Gliding (1974), I Send A Voice (1978), and The Shaman and the Medicine Man (1982), she recorded her explorations of native Indian spirituality both as a seeker and as a participant. Emerging through her writing is the devotion and energy which she put into the exploration and development of her aboriginal life. Drawing upon research conducted in Special Collections at the Mugar Memorial Library in Boston University, in the library of the Fort Anne Museum, Annapolis, Nova Scotia, and in the Public Archives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, this thesis concludes that Eaton's portrayal of the lifestyle and culture of Native Americans in her early and later works is strongly correlated with her own life and attitudes and the profound changes which occur therein. Eaton's spiritual search is life-long and is ultimately shaped by the recognition of her aboriginal heritage. In her later years, Eaton's life and work become unified; her writing becomes part of the 'medicine' which heals Eaton, and it also becomes the instrument of healing for many others. Eaton found her true voice in native American spirituality and in her life-style writing. Although it has never been accorded the recognition which her early work attracted, Eaton's life-style writing should perhaps supersede it. |
