An Interpretation Of Alice Munro's Lives Of Girls And Women From The Perspective Of Psychological Realism

Alice Munro is a Canadian short story writer who won the Nobel literature prize in 2013 and has been regarded as the contemporary master of short stories.She is famous for her delicate storytelling.Lives of Girls and Women,the second work of Munro published in 1971,was made up of eight interlinked short stories,which was once considered to be the only novel.It depicts the process of a na?ve girl that grows up into an intelligent woman with independent spirit.This thesis interprets Munro?s Lives of Girls and Women from the perspective of psychological realism,aiming to apply close reading to analyze the protagonist?s growing psychological journey in reality,which involves curiosity,perplexity,rebellion,desire,epiphany,and maturity.It not only reveals that the protagonist?s inner world is affected by the external reality but also unfolds that her inner psychological changes reflect objective external reality.This thesis includes three parts.The first part is the introduction that also involves three parts.Firstly,it mainly introduces Munro and her literary achievements.Secondly,it expounds the origin,definition of psychological realism and the application of this theory in literature.Thirdly,it is literature review including current researches on her works both at home and aboard as well as research objectives and significance of this thesis.The second part is the main body of the thesis which involves three paralleled chapters.The first chapter interprets “Heirs of Living Body” “Princess Ida” “Changes and Ceremonies”,which describes Della?s ignorance and perplexity,psychological contradiction between ideal life and real life of Della?s mother and the confusion rising on Della?s part as well as Della?s initial confusion and enlightenment of love by employing memory and fantasy,flashback,central consciousness and inner monologue of psychological realism.The second chapter interprets “Age of Faith” “Changes and Ceremonies” “Lives of Girls and Women”,which delineates Della?s rebellious psychology,an initial epiphany of faith and preliminary exploration to love and sex in growing process by employing central consciousness,epiphany and fantasy of psychological realism.The third chapter interprets “Baptizing” “Photographer”,which analyzes Della?s gradual maturity of self-consciousness and emotional rational return in reality by using central consciousness,photographer,memory,and fantasy.The conclusion part summarizes three essential growing phases of the protagonist,which involves curiosity and perplexity of the little girl,her imaginary and rebellion at teenagers as well as epiphany and rational consciousness of her adulthood.These three phases are not only closely connected but also independent from each other.It concluded that three crucial parts have profound significance in girls? growing process,which consists of family education,school education,and social education.In addition to the epiphany of self-consciousness,parents should establish right value and guide the growing girl reasonably so that female could obtain epiphany,achieve the rational return,realize their value of life and enrich their meaning of life.