Self and Other in the Short Stories of Margaret Laurence

Known as "one of the titans of Canadian literature", Margaret Laurence is remembered for her novels and short stories. She was born in the prairie town of Neepawa, Manitoba (model for the fictional Manawaka). Her work examines the quest for identities in a foreign land through The Tomorrow Tamer and Other Stories and also an understanding of the inner self in A Bird in the House and Other Stories. Her short stories are not only a journey of self discovery but acceptance of the true self. The revelation of the self also leads to acceptance of the Other. Her short stories, as her novels, are usually preoccupied with the identity of the marginalised, side by side with a youngster's journey into adulthood. In terms of distance, her short stories are continents apart, one based in Africa on the verge of gaining her independence and the other in Canada which has its own struggles with peripheral identities. Yet, each character in the stories, has its own particular individuality, his/ her own cultural identity to display. The book is an attempt at analysing Laurence's acknowledgement of the struggles and existence of the Other.