46 pages • 1 hour read
Alice MunroLives of Girls and Women
Fiction | Short Story Collection | Adult | Published in 1971A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaBackground
Authorial Context: Alice Munro
Alice Munro is a Canadian author known for her short stories and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. She grew up in Ontario, where her father farmed fox and mink. Her experiences as a young girl provide Munro with first-hand perspectives on the lifestyles of many of her characters, including Del Jordan, as well as the setting of southern Ontario, where many of her stories are situated. During her time at the University of Western Ontario, Munro studied journalism and English. Her first story, which was published during her time in higher education in the late 1940s through early 1950s, was titled “The Dimensions of a Shadow.” Munro has written multiple short story collections throughout her career, including Dear Life, Dance of the Happy Shades, and Lives of Girls and Women. Munro is one of the most notable and decorated Canadian authors, having won awards including the O. Henry Award and the Man Booker International Prize, as well as being shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
In her work, Munro explores themes regarding womanhood, coming of age, self-discovery, creativity, and the relationships between people and nature through gothic and realist imagery. Many of her stories also present female narrators, such as Del, which allows Munro to explore disparities between genders and the development of female sexuality. Lives of Girls and Women develops these themes, while also employing the use of Munro’s preferred landscape.
Geographical Context: Southern Ontario
The southernmost region of Ontario is both the most densely populated region in the province and home to Canada’s capital city, Ottawa, and most populated city, Toronto. Although this region is home to major metropolitan regions, Ontario also includes some of Canada’s prime farmland. The southern part of the province borders the Great Lakes and several states in the US, including Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio. Ontario is also home to a variety of cultures and is influenced by its history of French settlers and the presence of Indigenous peoples. In southern Ontario, Toronto serves as a major cultural hub, and due to being home to a majority of the province’s population, there are clear economic disparities between social classes.
Munro’s stories are frequently set in the region where she spent her childhood, illustrating her knowledge and understanding of both the landscape, its inhabitants, and urban-rural divisions and disparities.
Historical Context: World War II and Canada
During the late 1930s through 1940s, World War II created turmoil and strife across the globe. Canada willingly entered the war in 1939 because of the threats posed by Nazi Germany. Canada “almost from the beginning […] were in the thick of the fighting—in the air” (Burt, A.L. “What Was Canada’s Role in World War II.” EM 47: Canada: Our Oldest Good Neighbor, GI Roundtable Series, Jan. 1946. American Historical Association.). The Royal Canadian Air Force supplied more than 200,000 soldiers to the war effort against the Axis Powers, joined by troops in the Royal Canadian Navy and Canada’s army. According to the Canadian War Museum, more than 1 million Canadians served during the war. After the war, Canada underwent an increase in “urbanization, industrialization, [and] state intervention in the lives of Canadians” as well as an overall increase in global affairs (“Canada and the Second World War.” Canadian War Museum.).
In Munro’s Lives of Girls and Women, World War II exists in the background of the text. While the author does not expand significantly on its impact on the country or Jubilee, Munro mentions the war throughout the text, such as noting that the farmers whose financial situations have improved due to the war cannot access goods like cars and refrigerators that they can now afford. Nonetheless, its influence on the country and the book’s characters adds nuance to Munro’s depiction of the rural Canadian landscape.
Related Titles
By Alice Munro
