| Public perceptions of teachers are based on personal experiences, conversations with others about anecdotal experiences, or depictions of teachers in the mass media. The study of depictions of teachers in literature illuminates enduring social perceptions and stereotypes of teachers. Collectively, the portrayals of teachers in literature contribute to an understanding of the role of the teacher. This study sought to determine whether portrayals of teachers in Scottish literature are consistent with portrayals of teachers in American literature. Specifically, the present study sought to explore the extent to which elements identified by Truffin (2002) as representative of the Schoolhouse Gothic are present in Scottish literature involving schools and teachers. The present study connects the character of the Scottish schoolteacher to the Caledonian antisyzygy and represents an investigation to examine the extent to which the character of the schoolteacher in Scottish literature exemplifies or causes fragmentation as represented by duality, division, fracture, or disintegration (Wallace, 1993).;The present study analyzed nine contemporary Scottish novels: Muriel Spark's (1961) The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), George Friel's (1972) Mr. Alfred M.A., Iain Crichton Smith's (1978) An End to Autumn (1978), Robin Jenkins' (1979) Fergus Lamont, Alasdair Gray's (1980) Lanark, Alasdair Gray's (1984) 1982 Janine, Janice Galloway's (1989) The Trick is to Keep Breathing, James Kelman's (1989) A Disaffection (1989), and Alasdair Gray's (1990) Something Leather. Results indicate that elements identified by Truffin (2002) as representative of the Schoolhouse Gothic are present in contemporary Scottish literature involving schools and teachers. Each of the nine novels analyzed in this study exhibited clearly recognizable elements of the Schoolhouse Gothic. Results indicate that the character of the schoolteacher in Scottish literature exemplifies fragmentation as represented by duality, division, fracture, or disintegration (Wallace, 1993). Seven of the nine novels clearly exhibited these characteristics. |
