An Analysis Of Runaway In Runaway From The Perspective Of Ethical Criticism

Alice Munro is a distinguished contemporary short story writer in Canada and she is adept to narrate the exquisite inner world and the life experience of the females who come from small villages or towns. In her prominent writing career, she has totally published 13 collections of short stories and a novella until now. In 2013, her collection Runaway won the Nobel Prize in literature. Runaway consists of eight stories, all reflecting such a literary motif as "runway".Set on the theoretical background of western ethical criticism and absorbing the elite thoughts of literary ethical criticism put forward by Professor Nie Zhenzhao, this thesis endeavors to analyze and summarize what family ethical situation the female protagonists try to run away from. The tentative answers to such a question would be:the escape from the authoritarian parents, the escape from the autocratic men and the escape from the self-constraint. Influenced by the Canadian identity and the second wave of female consciousness, Munro renders the dilemma that her protagonists fall in-they try to escape from but could not succeed in getting rid of the destined failure. However, by running away temporarily from their troubles and puzzles, those women could get a better understanding of themselves and build a harmonious relationship with others to some extent.Munro’s runaway stories enlighten the females today on their own domestic issues. It is necessary for the contemporary women to keep rational and wise when encountering unsatisfying and puzzling life. The temporary escape couldn’t solve problems at all. Only through the exchange of family roles and realization of mental and spiritual independence can they make the motif of runaway come true actually and entirely.