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GARDENS OF HIS MAKING: THREE STORIES
BY ALICE MUNRO
——o—
ANDREA SZABÓ E.
Abstract
In my paper, I discuss three short stories by Alice Munro from her late career:
“Vandals” (1994), “Runaway” (2004), and “Dimensions” (2010). Although these
instant classics were published in different volumes, they show a remarkable
unity in their thematic focus, the characters they line up, their setting and
narrative structure, thus they can be seen as a group of stories, or even a story
type in Munro’s later period. At the same time, these stories also show a
remarkable shift in their conclusions, suggesting a similar shift in Munro’s
vision. By examining them as stories depicting an idyllic garden akin to Eden
and created by increasingly domineering Adam-like figures who grow more
violent with each narrative, I will demonstrate how Munro’s female characters
are tempted by the fruit of knowledge, why they opt for intentional blindness,
and why the protagonist of the most recent short story breaks away from the
Eden constructed by her Adam. The stories illustrate the delicate balance of
continuity and innovation in Munro’s oeuvre as the subtle, sometimes barely
perceptible changes in the recurring elements of the narratives both create a
sense of continuity and give the reader an insight into how the writer’s per¬
spective changes with time.
Keywords: Alice Munro, Canadian literature, intentional blindness, Garden
of Eden
Résumé
Dans cet article, je discute de trois nouvelles écrites par Alice Munro a la fin
de sa carriére: «Vandals» (1994), «Runaway» (2004) et «Dimensions» (2010).
Bien que ces classiques instantanés aient été publiés dans des volumes diffé¬
rents, ils présentent une unité remarquable dans leur thématique, les types de
personnages qu’ils mettent en scene, leur cadre et leur structure narrative, de
sorte guils peuvent étre consideres comme un groupe d’histoires, ou m&me
un type d’histoire dans la derniere periode de Munro. En m&me temps, ces
histoires presentent un changement remarquable dans leurs conclusions, ce
quisuggere un changement similaire dans la vision de Munro. En les examinant
comme des histoires décrivant un jardin idyllique proche de l’Eden, créé par
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