Imagery and Structure in The Imperialist by Sara Jeannette Duncan

Abstract

<p>The Imperialist is a novel that studies both personal and national destiny. Sara Jeannette Duncan unifies her study of the destinies of her characters, and of England and Canada by employing a series of images that relate to both character and nation, and by means of a symbolic structure that also allows the reader to identify the fate of specific characters with Canadian or British national identity. The techniques used by Duncan in achieving this unity of imagery and structure amply reward critical attention.</p> <p>Chapter One ("Interrelated Plots") deals with the career of Lorne Murchison, and the romance between Advena Murchison and Hugh Finlay. Chapter Two ("Interrelated Imagery") examines Duncan's organisation of subsidiary themes in the novel. In Chapter Three ("Interrelated Politics") the concept of imperialism, as perceived in The Imperialist, is discussed in terms of Duncan's imagery.</p>