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Articles

Volume 06, Number 2 (1981)

Narcissism in the Modern Canadian Novel

  • Francis Mansbridge
Submitted
May 22, 2008
Published
1981-06-06

Abstract

Two facets of the Narcissus myth are reflected in contemporary Canadian fiction: Narcissus and his fate symbolize the destructive nature of self-love and the complementary possibility of union with nature. These two facets of the myth, then, can be seen as influencing the choice and treatment of symbols, images, and characters in different Canadian novels. In this regard, we frequently see novels which have artists as their protagonists -- novelists writing themselves into their fiction. In many of Margaret Laurence's novels, characters, to varying degrees, suffer from the narcissistic trait of self-love. Bodies of water play important roles in Canadian fiction, a symbolic characteristic which stems from the myth. Suicide -- another act contained in the myth -- is also quite common in Canadian fiction. Finally, many parallels with the Narcissus story can be ascertained when one closely examines Margaret Atwood's Surfacing and Robert Kroetsch's Badlands.