On The Construction Of Canadian National Identity In Alias Grace

Margret Atwood(1939—),accredited as the “Queen of Canadian Literature”,is a renowned poet,novelist,literary critic in contemporary Canada,and most importantly,the spokeswoman of Canadian culture and the founder of Canadian literature.Alias Grace(1996)won the Giller Prize and the shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Man Booker Prize.Based on a real-life Canadian case that took place in July of 1843,during which Canada was in the British colony,this novel is a fascinating and suspenseful rewriting of Grace,a 16 years old Irish-Canadian and maid,who is incarcerated for committing murder.Up until now,researchers at home and abroad have interpreted Alias Grace from several theories such as feminist criticism,narratology,historical criticism,postmodernism,with few studies have further explored it from the perspective of postcolonial feminist criticism.Postcolonial feminism is a form of literary criticism that combines feminism and post-colonialism with history,politics,society,and culture,drawing considerable attention to the marginalized female groups’ living conditions and their personal experiences under the oppression of colonization,class,race and gender.On this basis,this thesis offers an interpretative study on the construction of Canadian national identity in Alias Grace.Canada is a multiethnic and multicultural nation,facing national identity crisis constantly due to the long-term colonial domination overwhelmed by France and Britain and American cultural imperialism.Canadian national identity,as a core issue of Canadian survival and essential theme that Atwood takes notice of,has much to do with the female character in her works.As a historical fiction with Canada as its background,Alias Grace makes much of Atwood’s imaginative construction of Canadian national identity.Her nationalist sentiment and ideology are visible throughout the novel.By brilliantly embedding historical sources,social conditions,and cultural traditions into Grace’s narrative,Atwood describes the social situation and endemic traditions in the19 th century and constructs Canadian national identity.In the novel,Grace’s experience seems to be her search for personal history and identity,but rather it symbolizes the construction of Canadian national identity.Therefore,this thesis aims to interpret the construction of Canadian national identity in Alias Grace from historical writing,sexual politics and cultural identification by applying postcolonial feminism.The first chapter begins by constructing Canadian national identity from the aspect of historical writing in Alias Grace.It aims to figure out how Grace,as a marginalized Canadian woman of Irish origin,discloses Canada’s historical situation while retelling women’s tragic personal history and multiple layers of oppression.This chapter proves that the process of Grace’s retrospect on the murder is not just an inquiry into women’s personal history and also an exploration of Canadian history and its national identity.The second chapter attempts to elaborate on the construction of Canadian national identity through sexual politics.Grounded on the gendered metaphor from the natives of nationhood of postcolonial feminism,Grace is a profound metaphor to allude to Canadian national identity,through which female identity and national identity are intimately intertwined.The gender relation between Grace and Jordan is employed as the focal point to probe into Canadian national identity from the three stages of Grace’s identity and the deconstruction of Jordan’s male subjectivity.The third chapter examines cultural identification.Atwood sensitively utilizes numerous Canadian literary elements and cultural images such as wilderness landscapes,urban landscapes,spiritualism and quilting,presenting the distinctive Canadian cultural landscapes and status symbols.All of them are crucial parts of the maintenance and transmission of Canadian national identity and affirmation of Canadian cultural traditions and national identity.Based upon the above analyses,this thesis has practical significance and academic value because it highlights Atwood’s deep concerns and social reflections on the issue of national identity and unveils her persistent efforts to construct a distinctive Canadian national identity.Meanwhile,this study is of particular importance and enlightenment concerning how Atwood gives thought to go beyond constructing national identity and national consciousness for all human beings,not only from Canada but also from countries around the world in the age of globalization.