Family Ethics Narratives In Carol Shields' Novels

Carol Shields(1935-2003)is one of the most influential women writers in Canadian literature since the 1960s.Her works focus on family life.And she is good at depicting ordinary people’s emotions,devoting herself to the pursuit and exploration of narrative techniques.This paper chooses novels of Shields from the 1990s as the focus of analysis.And from the perspective of narrative methods used by the author in her works,Shields’ s family ethics,is analyzed.Shields is fond of the family genre,and her works focus on showing the relationship between people,especially the relationship between family members and communication problems,taking the progress of the relationship between the characters as the motivation of plot development.Therefore,the flow of the plot is often non-linear,and its end point is an open,happy reconciliation,showing the writer’s confidence in family relations and mutual redemption between family members.At the same time,Shields uses her unique narrative voice and discourse to show the contradictions of ethical status of the ordinary male characters,showing a valuable humanistic spirit.But the identity and position of a woman writer forced Shields to confront the second and third feminist movements in Primary Colors.Even though Shields was not a radical feminist writer,she still joined the feminist group with her unique attitude,taking literature as the weapon,in the transformation and exploration of the literature,in the thinking of the significance of the existence of thousands of ordinary characters.Her works show the recognition of the rationality of the existence of the traditional family ethics and the significance of the family ethics to the modern people in the predicament.Therefore,Shields’ family ethics and her narrative style are complementary and inseparable.The relationship between form and theme shows Shields’ poetic thinking of individual and family living conditions.She uses ordinary families and ordinary characters to show the narrative characteristics beyond the traditional.Behind this narrative style is her analysis of traditional family ethics.There is no fierce resistance in her works.Instead,she is a hidden thorn providing a faint but constant attack.