Mavis Gallants Bernadette :: essays research papers

Mavis Gallants BernadetteFear, it has a way of controlling everything that it comes in contact with.As young children we atomic number 18 introduced to this intimidating desire with intrigueand suspicion. As we age, the thoughts of fears become more like realities,ideas of loneliness and death enter the picture as comprehensible thoughts andviews of the future. These issues make up the foundation of the Mavis Gallant stratum "Bernadette". In this narration we are presented with the image of a youngFrench Canadian miss, who finds herself pregnant and without a husband. The scene of the story explores the relationships between the members of thehousehold in a fear associated manner. The relationship between the Knightsand Bernadette is the base of the story. These three people relate to eachother in an intimidating fashion and this is what makes Bernadettespredicament so difficult to all overcome. As well, the family ties between Noraand Robbie are explored. Their family r elationship is one based on dependence,and without this one factor the lodge between the two results infearfulness of being alone. Fear has a way of attacking our judgment and thisis what makes associations between people an apprehensive and hard act.     The story is set in Quebec during the 1940-1950, when what you were wasthe definition of who you were. As the story opens we are presented with themain character Bernadette, who is concluding that she is one hundred andtwenty-six days pregnant. At this metre in history it was quit common for youngrural girls to bare children at a young age. However, Bernadette is a singleFrench Canadian girl who is working and living in a urban community, wherethings like that do not take place. We are here introduced to the first fearpresented in the story --How will Bernadette tell the Knights that she ispregnant? -- The answer to the question is what haunts her, and the reaction ofthe Knights is the anxiety that builds up i nside of her. These intimidatingfears places Bernadette in a compromising situation, she is in a position ofabandonment by her family and the shame she thinks she has brought on to theKnights. These fears have forced her to react in an unusual fashion.Bernadette is so fearful of what they might think that she tries to handleherself in her work so that she is not placed in the position where she willhave to interact with the Knights.     The fear of failure and disappointment took control over her mind.When around the Knights she worked as a robot in order not to arouse ideas of