Date of Award

8-1991

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

Supervisor

J. Donaldson

Abstract

This thesis will explore the work of Janette Turner Hospital. Her work

reveals the attempt to mediate between two levels of reality. The first may

be described as that which comprises the world of objective reality, of

everyday life, of western culture and the perceived centre. The other level is

perceived to exist on the margins of the first, and encompasses the subjective,

the unconventional, the Third World and the supernatural. The awareness

of this dichotomy, which has connective roots to Hospital's experience in both

Australia and Canada, has led her to search for the integration of these two

worlds. The difficulties of this quest form a central issue in Hospital's novels.

These difficulties include the belief that the world of the margin cannot be

truly known, especially from the perspective of the centre, and that, because

the two levels of reality coexist, they cannot be separated.

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