Works of realism can, by displacing or parodying patterns of romance, acquire access to mythic levels of human experience. Margaret Laurence, Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Sara Jeanette Duncan, and L.M. Montgomery exploit the device of parallel plots and multiple endings to contrast the proper roles for the "old time" and the "new" heroine. Texts discussed include The Imperialist, Anne of Green Gables, Lady Oracle, A Bird in the House, and Lives of Girls and Women.
