The Father's No and the Mother's Yes: Psychological Intertexts in Davies' <em>What's Bred in the Bone</em> and <em>Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale</em>
Abstract
These radically different novels by two of Canada's foremost writers present remarkable structural resonance when subjected to analysis of their psychological intertexts. The essay argues that textual instabilities in the narratives ultimately subvert received ideas of truth in contemporary society, including and in particular the language of modern psychology. This language, like all language, at best amounts to a flawed translation of symbolizations taking place in individual psyches. For the protagonists of both novels the "truth'' of psychology is entirely eclipsed by what may be one of the first myths of postmodern times.Metrics
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