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Means To Demythologize: On Intertextuality In Angela Carter's Short Stories

Posted on:2009-09-01Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:L LeiFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360245981642Subject:English Language and Literature
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
Angela Carter is a self-claimed "demythologizer," who is engaged in the shattering of myths, especially the male myth about the female, the Western-center myth about other cultures, and the white myth about the colored. By rejecting universally accepted experience and equipping silenced people with a reasonable and diversified life history, Carter invites them to voice their own opinions. She embodies her demythologization in different ways, the technology of intertextuality in particular. There are four types of intertextual devices mainly used in Carter's fiction: quotation, allusion, parody, and collage.In this thesis, the present author examines three sets of Carter's intertextual rewritings. The first set includes her retellings of classic European fairy tales or folklores; the second set is her re-readings of a number of famous extant manuscripts; the last is her reconstructions of many historical legends.Through deconstructing conventional works, accepted theories and principles, Carter tries to build the eclectic world view, which contains and accepts various thoughts, even these entirely different ideas. Every idea can equally communicate with others and there is no absolute right or wrong. In Carter's mind, any boundary can be overstepped and the life is flowing and changeable.The present author further points out that on one hand, intertextuality plays an important role in Carter's demythologizing attempts and enhances the charm of her works; on the other hand, it limits Carter's imagination and multi-referential relations also cause obstacles to the process of reading.
Keywords/Search Tags:Angela Carter, intertextuality, demythologize
PDF Full Text Request
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