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GARDENS OF His MAKING: THREE STORIES BY ALICE MUNRO
the forbidden fruit (turning a blind eye to Adam’s sin), or she can confront his
sin, thus risking their relationship in their Garden of Eden (their home on a
Canadian farm). In their home, literally a garden, a refuge from the outside
world, from the judgement of others, a patriarchal figure rules over all. Here,
time is suspended, and customary social rules do not apply. The temptation is
personified by an older female figure (the serpent), driven by fundamentally
good intentions. She observes Eve’s reluctance with bewilderment, particularly
in the later narratives. She cannot comprehend why the female protagonist
resists the truth about Adam. However, the Eves in these narratives have molded
their self-perception in their relation to their Adams, thus not only does leav¬
ing them represent disloyalty, but also a profound challenge to their own
identity.
In all three narratives the female protagonists resist knowledge because
knowing the truth would reveal slices of injustice and horror in their lives and
that would threaten the image of their own self. In the three narratives pre¬
sented, the concept of intentional blindness helps to unravel the themes of the
stories. Intentional blindness is a defence mechanism, understood as a com¬
bination of several cognitive distortions, by which the human mind defends
itself against information or facts that may be unpleasant or threatening to it.
Its roots are often found in the search for self-protection and emotional com¬
fort. Its function may be self-protection, i.e., the mind automatically blocks or
suppresses information that may be threatening to the individual in order to
protect the personality. It may also be a coping mechanism in that it helps the
individual to manage or avoid stressful or unpleasant situations. When a per¬
son is confronted with information or beliefs that are contrary to reality,
intentional blindness can help reduce cognitive dissonance, but it can also be
used towards denying reality or truth in order to maintain a positive self-es¬
teem, beliefs or relationships with others. Intentional blindness provides the
individual with the opportunity to continue living in an illusion or within a
familiar framework, which in some situations is the more emotionally com¬
fortable choice, as by mobilizing it, there is no need to examine facts or infor¬
mation, the pre-existing belief system can be maintained, and thus the indi¬
vidual can maintain a sense of comfort and stability. Intentional blindness also
provides the opportunity for the individual to use it as a mechanism to avoid
taking responsibility for oneself or others. Understanding intentional blindness
in this context offers a framework to understand the subtlety of the narratives
and the compassion with which Munro constructs her characters, refraining
from assigning blame to any one of them — regardless of the darkness these
stories exude.
A discussion of the three short stories follows to demonstrate the archetypal
setting and plot structuring the narratives as well as the protagonists’ reliance
on intentional blindness.
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