Weiqian He, Yu Liu
School of Foreign Languages, Changchun University of Technology, Changchun 130102, Jilin, China
Abstract: One of Canadian author Atwood's acclaimed masterpieces, Alias Grace, re-explores the dusty years of a murder case by stringing together women's self-talk with the evaluative perceptions of others. The multi-dimensional image of Grace is presented through the heroine's memories, the doctor Jordan's searching thoughts on the truth, and the words of others pasted with real historical information. This paper intends to explore the archetypes of the characters in it through the lens of archetypal criticism, and explore Atwood's mythological underpinnings for characterization and plot writing by comparing it with Western mythology. This paper at first briefly introduces the works of the writer and archetypal criticism. It is followed by an archetypal reading and comparison of some of the characters in Alias Grace, one by one, and finally a conclusion. This process of comparing the mythological elements that appear in Alias Grace with Western myths using archetypal criticism allows readers to better appreciate the mythological elements embedded in the work, increases the breadth of understanding of the work, and compares the two to gain further insight into Atwood's modern thought.
Keywords: Alias Grace; Frye; Archetypes; Displacement; Characterization; Western Mythology
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