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Articles

Volume 01, Number 1 (1976)

In Defense of Hetty Dorval

Submitted
May 22, 2008
Published
1976-01-01

Abstract

Despite critical dismissal of Ethel Wilson's 1947 novel Hetty Dorval, it is one of the most tightly-written, finely crafted, and controlled of Wilson's published works, and one that raises serious issues explored more fully in the longer novels. As in her later work, the primary conflict results from the tension between the individual and society, a tension explored through the relationship between Frankie Burnaby and Hetty Dorval. Contrary to critical assessment which considers Hetty an evil character and a foil to Frankie's innocence, Hetty might instead be thought of as a much maligned victim, misunderstood by both Frankie and society at large. Frankie Burnaby, through her revelatory role as narrator, exposes this misunderstanding by her process of arriving at a more complex knowledge of both Hetty and herself.