On the Narrator in“Boys and Girls”

【Abstract】Widely regarded as Canadas best writer of short stories，Alice Munro reflects her precise social observation and penetrating psychologically insight into the complex existence.The paper analyzes the narrator in the mini-story “Boys and Girls” and sheds light on the suppression endured by the central female characters in a patriarchal society.

【Key words】narrator； comparison； female； male

“Boys and Girls” is written by Alice Munro who is widely regarded as Canadas best writer of short stories.The story reflects the authors precise social observation and penetrating psychologically insight.It is set in the small towns where people live in poverty and women are isolated，generally staying at home and doing housework and where they spend their life in the gender confinement.The story is told by the young girl herself in the first person point of view.This paper analyzes the narrator and sheds light on the suppression endured by the central female characters in a patriarchal society.

In “Boys and Girls”，the narrators father is a fox farmer，working outdoors.The father in the story is a bread-winner for family and a symbol of males world.He is engaged in killing and skinning foxes，which is bloody and cruel.He does not like to talk something private or express his feeling to others.But the narrator regards her father as a model because her fathers behavior and personality express a kind of dominance，authority and power.She admires all that her father does.She wants to be courageous and bold and self-sacrificed.She dreams to rescue someone，shoots wolves and rides a horse.She works willingly with a feeling of proud for her father although he seldom talks to her.She hopes that her father treats her more than a girl.The narrator likes to go for a walk with him.She loves him.

She，however，is against her mother who is a symbol of females world.In the story，the narrators mother does endless housework，living in a small world （house）.She likes to express her cheerful feelings.In her eyes，boys are real help to their fathers while girls can only work in the house.Her mothers behavior and personality characterize a female role.The narrator dislikes what her mother says and does.“It seems to me that work in the house was endless，dreary and peculiarly depressing” （P117）.The narrator thinks housework is trivial and less important.She even has prejudice on her mother.To her，her mother is easily to be fooled because of her kindness.She doesnt trust her mother.“She was kinder than my father and easily fooled，but you could not depend on her，and the real reasons for the things she said and did were not to be known” （P117）.Although her mother stays up late to make a dress of the difficult style for her and loves her deeply，she still dislikes her.The narrator doesnt want to walk with her mother on the street.She thinks they are the objects of universal ridicule.It humiliates her to walk with her mother.She even disgusts her mothers voice when she says her name in public and dislikes her dressing.She thinks that outside world is better than kitchen which is full of dull and routine housework.

Symbolically，father and mother play male and female roles distinctly.The narrator admires her father but is dissatisfied with her mother，which indicates that she longs to be in males world and away from females.In order to get her satisfaction temporarily，she asks her brother to do something which girls should not.She tries to break away from gender confinement psychologically and physically.“We were not afraid of outside.” and “We were afraid of inside.”（P 112） Being afraid of “inside” embodies that the narrator fears to stay at home and do housework （female role）.She wants to go outside，a free world （male world）.She imagines she is brave and self-sacrifice in the story.She is eager to enter males world.Willingly and happily，she helps her father carry water and cut grass.She does not obey her grandmothers words and continue to slam the doors and sit as awkwardly as possible.She tries to save the horse Flora from being killed.In the end，after her father says she is only a girl，she still doubts that.“I didnt protest that，even in my heart.Maybe it was true.” It seems that she still cannot accept it completely from the word “maybe”.

In summary，the narrator is eager to enter males world and keep away from females，which reflects from her different attitudes toward her father and mother.She tries to break away from gender confinement psychologically and physically.Although experiencing struggle with gender confinement，she accepts it passively on her final self-recognition.

References：

[1]Munro，Alice.Dance of the Happy Shades[M].Toronto：McGraw-HillRyerson Limited，1968.

[2]Kr?ller，Eva-Marie.Cambridge Companions to Canadian Literature[M].The United Kingdom：Cambridge University Press，2004.

作者簡介：李小璽，女，延安大學外語學院，講師，碩士，研究方向：英美文學。