rt fulfil

St.John's

AARG!NAL! U T!ONiUo"DTI-:EACl'IVE!d.AR.G! YS INTEEPLAYSOF RAtGrJ'{

by Mic."'.a elLloyd Fra l ic

~thes issubmitted. tocne Schoo lof Graduate St udies inpart i alfulfilment.of en e requir e menc s forthedegreeof

Mast.er of Arts

Department.ofEn g l i s h . Memorial Unive r s ity of Newfoundland

September1996

Newfoundland

Abstra ct

The pol ic i ca l, economicandcu.le ural;nargi~liz acionof humanpop ulaci ons hasbe c ome an importaneehemein pos t· c o lonial lite rary scholarshipbecause it fr equ ene lyhas occurred.inthe co neext;of col o nial rule, andbecause co l o n ial marqina l iza eioninvari ousformshas incecenc

.dec adesbeent.he subjectofwidespreadlieerarycreaemenc s.

sucamarginal iza ci o npraccic esas obj eccHication, commodificatio n andste reoeypi::l.ghave been rooted in assumptio ns by colonia lpowers enee the y are als othe sour ce sof truth and value, andarethe righct ul rureesof cne col on ie s they have he l d. Colonia l powersfrequentl yhave marginal ize dcolonial territories'bydiscour aging cu l tur al self- def ini tio n, chroug hcol onia l autho ric ie s' and missionarie s' imposi cionof culcural pracc ices frOClltlle ce nt resofpo wer andcue con s tantreinforcemencofthe ir superiority .Moeher frequenteffect of colon i al rulehas beenan inabilitywiUrin.marginalited popu laci ons coesca pe economi corpol it i c a l dependencyODthe col on ial powers- - a state ofaffairswhichfrequentlyhas beendue tothe eco nomic exploic a cionof coloni e sbythe col onia l powers the yrel y on.

The post- c olonial study ofmarginalizat ion is an app r opri a te ba sis foran exploration of RayGuy's plays

i i

becauseall thr e e of hisplaysemphas i z e marginal izaei on . -..hic::' casbeenadefi n i ng fa ceorth=ougt:!.oue Newf oundlac c' s hi s::ory.Theplays areall secdurit:genecrucial pe:r:'od sur:,ounding the 1949 regime change in whichNewfoundl an d ended its lite as a Britishcolonyandbeca me aprov i nce ot Can ada.

GUy's fir st play YoungI-U r je'saeonMade;·....SlV "it'"

rc c asee on a hi storyat' ecnnccencr-i,candego t i s t i c missionaryace i v ity in Newfoundlan d: his sec ond play ~

~addresses IIpsy chological de pende ncy among many Ne·...!oun dl an der s on exogenous culturesas thesources of cure s to Ne wtoundland's economic and political il ls; andhi s th i d pl ayI:Je Swin tonMa uac.-eccus e s onthe residueof COl onial atcLcudes inthenewregime. andon margina l iza::ion prac t icesamongNewf oundlanders_

GUyal s o emphasi ze sthemulcifarious respo nses to process e s ofmarginalizat i o namongmarginalizedpeop l e, dra....ing attentionco the activemarginas a st.ee of struggl e andchan ge .

iii

TABUOFCONn::NTS

Abst ract

Introduction

Chapt er1

-'oupaIr~"''fieIs Bec>nMade:AwavWi t h, Mi s s i o na r ies and Refusal

Chapter2

~: Nerloundland. Marginali zedfrcm Within 62

Chapter3

The:Sw~ntQ nM4ss il Cr A: Objeccificationand Ambi valencein th e OutportsDuringEarly Post·Coc.feder a tioc.Development in Newfoundland

C011clWllion

Bibliograp hy

iv

103

146

153

Introduction

Theye az s fcsebeforeandirrmediacelyfollowing Ne'.<Ifoundland'scc nrec e e a eice -",iChCan adain 1949ve e e ye axs of gr e ac adjus cment..Ne wfOUIldland'shiscory beg i n s wich a :;leriod ofabout; ewe centuriesduringwhic h eeeefeeenewasal:

vceae~orbiddenandeeee s c eole r aeedby ea earitishande~e Fre nc h alik e."Followi ng this period. , Ne...foundl and spent from.

18 24 unt.il 1949 under varying degrees of Bricisb colonial influence , ran ging f=ompe:::-i ods of self-government.to pe r iodsduring :.ihic hgovernmenc...as control led. ent i rely by colonialagen t.s.The Commission ofGovernment , -"'h i c h was ene goveClingbody for Ne...foundlandduring cne fifteenye aza di r ectlypreced ing Conf ed e:a e ion, waacompr ised of Bri t ish-appoi nt. ed civil servants.At. the t.ime of Confedera.t.ion, Newfound!a.nt:!e r sweee learningeo de al wi th cueec onomic,social andpsychologica l res i du e of colonial i sm incne absenceof ene colonial.s t.ruceu res the mse lves, whi ch hadsupport ed aparticular sc ac us quo, ha d encrenc nedandconeinual l yrei n f orc ed t.h eassoc i a e i on of economic andpolit.icalpower wit.hSrieai n , and were ac companiedbyvarious religious andmedical missions wbi ch en c ouraged, czcen wi thoueSUCCf!SS, the percepei on by Newfoundlandersof t.heir ownmoraland cultural inferiori ey . Newf oundlandersae t.hisei me al s o had to attempt eoSha pe,

il::C.a:: ene·./e~!leas e eoW!d~ =s~anc.and cope 1otith, a nev co~.Eiguraeionofpowerin the province , internal l y and.in ies relations·...ith it snew pri mary ccunczv ofinf l ue nc e, Car-ada.

His eo ry books abou t Ne..,! oundlandCOl".siseentlydrawour att ent ion to the mu ltifa riou seffe cts of it speculiar co l o n i a l ism, net only on Ne..,found1and· sec ee eev ar.d political scruc cuze s but also onthe at ti t:udesof Le a citizens towa rd pol i tica l andeconomicmacee e s.OUr att e n t ion isdrawnti meandaga in toenepsyc hol ogical ef f e c ts of col onia l ism,eaeec o nomi c disparitie s it.

enqendexed, and-theongoing st ruggl eamong Ne wfoundlanders tocope ..,it.hthes elingering ef f e cts , whi c hdidace dis a ppear or signifi cant l ydecli ne af e er the 1949 chan geof regime.

Ray Guy, an oues po ke nne wsp a pe r co l wr:nisesinc ethe lace 196 0s , hasbecome well known in Newfoundland forhis acidi c ....it and provocativepoUeical coemen c a ry.Si nce 1985,GUy MSbee ncommis sioned eneee ci rnes byehe Re sour c e ce ecee for eneArts in St.John' s towr iteplays.All three of his res ultantplaysfocuson eae eumul tuou s peri od around Conf e d e r acion.Guy'splaysdemand cobe read wit:h their politiesinmind: as ajourua.lis r.., hehas grounded his play s, likehis co l umns , invery spec ific hi sr..o r i cal events and pro cesses ,andmany of his cnaracc e c s are based on

speci t i c polit i c a l figu rss0=clas s es of peop l !!. Ina2!.

cae-eeplays, Gu ye!tlphasi::esmarginaliza t.i o n, wh ich ha s be co meacaccn -vcedin post-co l o oialcric i c ism.'~ it~cut.

ideal izingchern,he al s o dra'...s aeeeoe rcn to va ri o us fons of re a raeeace tothese prc ce ea es amongmargina l iz edpeop Le, and le a v e s his audiences no t .ith didac t i c conclus i ons , but rat herwithoptions , questionsto pcnde r.

Guy's fi r s t play roWaT-~·fiG' :;BeG ? Made A:.Ia y"~ ;; ;'is se t in 1947 in the fictional out.portof SwyersHarbour.In

~, GUyde p i c t s a commun.:. ::y deal i n g withsome of t~e

last in a long li n e ofreli g iou s and secularmissionarie si:1 Newfoundl and , andinte rrog a t e s the motivesand the effec::s of manyof those 'oI'ho came coNewfoundland '''ithhe roi c no tionsof helping out; apoor, marginal society _Il:..1..f..:.i.is a te llinganddisc omf i t ing satireofthe etbnocentrismand eg ot ismat the rootof muchmiss ionary acc ivi t y,

Twoof the three missi onaries in the playhave pre sumed toknow:.Ihat isgoodfor t.heloc a l people, hav eattemptedto imposethese notionson them, andin the fac eof the coamunity'sgene ra l refusalto acc ordwith the ir wh i ms,have grownembitt.eredandresent.ful . Becausevoic es of resistance throwthemissionaries'missions in t o question. the missiona ries wou ldpre fer to hear oaly the voice -f r om that spacein the margincnae is a sign of deprivation - (ho oks 343 )--specifical l y the deprivationthe y ha ve presumed- -so

4

cnec t~eymay be rega rded as saviours.SnejaGun@ws;J9'g-es;:s

;:~ t the cence e "de ste-esthe existenceof the ma::ginal=Ul;.

ie s marginal specif i cieies· 11431.The s e speciti cities.wneninsistedupon by marginalizedpeople, br eak downt.he cec eee-e authori ty and dest=.roya.L!.y·po in e eerae rve to whichochers can be defined asmarginal-

(Fe:-gu s o n 10 ) .The Instsnenceby ~'s cneee

pro c ag o nises onmaincaining'the ir indi vid u a l iden t-feies in the faceof unccnsur.cacLve would- be helpers is depic tedas pe r ha p sQB.basicground-levelrestscence cec erc available to al l marginalpeoplein che face of external l y impo s ed calt.ural change.

Guy's secondplay~depicts an ener- cc ee eeec a ee St.John'smerc h ant. family cr/ ingto copewith cuerapid change s inebefirst ye a r s ofNewf oun dland' 5 pos:::-ccae e r aa life.Havingbee n pri v ilegedandwe a l chy unde r Br i t i s h eure, the ynow find themselve sforcedintO the economicmargins by a regime hostileto their politicalsentiments.They maintaina Unn loya ltytoBritainandhopetha t Conf ede ra t i on is justa phase.Oth er sin~place the ir economic;: hope ssol ely in th eUn i ted States, or in Canada via Conf ed e ra t ion.

In~, Newfoundla.n.dis re f erred to by mostof the chara cters interms wh ich suggest itisa meremarg i n to wha t e ve rce n t r e eachcha r a c t er La c cn e s onto.Theauthors of

r;,...;:mp;">a",..;tes Eac;leSUg<;''=SCit:. is common incolonial ec ca e ca e s eoge~cei·re:

char.beingie Ee l ! is rccaeee at.enecen cre , andchac

noehin~ess (b y implic aei oD) istheonly possibilit.yfor enemargins. (As hc rof t. ec a1.90)

The char act.e r s in~donot. se e ~Ne'lftound1ander~ as a

·...alididentit.y.because theydo not; se eNewfoundlanda.s a va lid cui.eureinit.sownrigh t..Ne wfoundlandis shown shi~ tingintheminds of ie smone ye d cla s ses,nee ou r;ot eee sha do w of another, dominant cult.ure,but. rat.her fromone ltLa=gi ncc anot.he r.

GUy' s thirdplay "'he Swint g nMUU.s;- " is set.in195~, du:::-i ng Newfoundland'sinicial pos t.-Confedera tiondeveLcpment;

fren zyunder PremierJoeySmalhlood. In~, Guy imme rse s us in ea rl ypcec-cct cmea Ne wfo undland, in ·lfhi eb.a wholene wse t.ofadmi ni stra eivl!andlegal mec hanis mswere ac companied by at.titudesc11at la rgelyvexe holdov e r s from Commiss i o n of Government.The effectsofthisjarring in c ongrui cy, ~sugge sts, oft en weredisas t rous.Among thecolonial holdoversdepict.ed in~isagovernment.

which is psychologicallydistanced from che public ic serve s,and which ac c ordingly deve lopsandenac ts po l i cies without. consul t.i ng ene public whi chthepolicies will affect--aneconomic echoingof eue missionariesin~

·

...ho decideindep enden clyof thecommunicy che y....ouldhelp

shewn isene public's f~3.rof poW'e=-a...'1d.of cbe

poW'er! ul.Those res i d e nc s of Lar'sHole,~'s ficc ioca.:

cucport; , '''ho arenot enc~u sia sc icaecuethedubiousne w loca l developmen t proj ecc general l y go alon g wit:hic quiecly.A third habic fromcolonialdaysdepictedLn

~is cneconstan'Cly ou c1tard- l oo ki ngsea rc h for devekcpment;ideas.whi c h is ebe re s i due ofat.c Lcudes su c a as chose held by tbesecece fa mi l y in~.

Inhispl ay s.Guyfocu sesas muchon the copingand resiscingpraceaces of marginalized peop leas oncne pr oc e s s e s of marginali zaeionthe mselves. In~ , Aunc Jolillie chase s eae missionaryPastor Poc t l e cue ofber pos e offic e. refusing co succumb to hi shat efullypious pontific:at:.ing. The servl.ng girl Ri tain~fr equen t:.!y speaks inaway tha c reveals he r insigh t:.into social prej ud i ces. and engages inasmall but signi f i cantactof r,efusalwhen sheoptstobirt:.h herchildout inthe yard raeberchan inabous efull ofsnobsand exploiters. In

~. Viol e c Bridge r case racesaman whocriestora pe her.andtheLa r's HoleWildManremai n s purposefullymute for ove r e'"en cyye a r s becausehe refus esto involvehimse l~

ina soc iety he regards as ro tte n ae thecore.The atte nt i on GUy pays to the resp on s es ot: themarginalizedis impo r t an t to bimas a pol icica l l ycommitt.edwri terwho has

consis c e:lC1.yc::-i::ici zedpassivi::yin eae!3.ceof oppr-essLc n,bel:!. hooks si :ni l a r l y insisc son ::he impor '::ance ot: re cogni zing c.!l.eacc t ve . ene re s iseanc inene mar g i n s:

If we onlyvie wenemar g inas sign, marking the ccndftLc u ot: ourpainanddep rivation, chen acert ain helplessn essand des pa ir, a deep ni hi l ism penecraces in ade atrucci.veway eneverygroundof ou r being. {J 421 Oneof cne ta s k s of po se- co l o ni a l licerary scholarship isthe scud yof \lri c e rsemergingfrommarg i nali z edsoci ec:ies or parts ofsoc i e cies, whopueopp~ss edor undez-xepzeaent ed socialgroup sae the cen t reof chei::- wo r k . Such;,ri c e r sl:e!1d co enga ge in che cre ati on of rt.c e ra eure cnae is 2-'Cplic ie l y polit.i c al,drawi:lgaccent Le n eo t.hei r backgrounds , ehei r perspecti ve s, ehe ir inc eneion eopromo ee poli eicalchangeor at. lea st eodisC'.1sSspeci fic politic alre al i eie s intheir are.Ray Guyis suchaveae ee,He recogn izesdepri vaei o n , los s,and marginal iza tionwi eho ut construct i ng themas a toealizing frameworkwhi ch def i nesthe ou c po r ns, Leavi ng no roomfo r loc a l agen cyand ehe full complexity of poli t i cal culeure thatexises cherei n .Bydrawi ng our aet ent i o n co the processesofmar ginal izac iontha~affe c t N@wfoundlanders.

the n depicting as the focusof tlisplays notthe re sult ant pai nandde privationbucrather che st ra~egicreact i o ns to thes e pr ocessesbyhischara ct ers , Guyrefuses to cond esc end. toplaythe mis sionary, andoptsins t ead topay

·...hacgeeson in tne margins.

Chapter 1

YoungTrieu.'1Betn Madebay With;

Mis s i ona r iesandRefusal

In Ray GUy'sfi:::-s c play vour:.a I ....:j<f." S Se Cl'Q Madeowav

~, ....e are toldthatDr.Percy ar.d Mr s. cxeceae tee s e.ene play'5mis s i o na ryte amof medical pra ctitione:-andsocial organiz e r, arri ved inS;,yersHar bour, Ne wfo undlandabcuct·...o decadesprevious to1947, the yearin\Iihichthe playisse t.

Pas t or rce eie. a religiousmissionary in the cOmmu.:lity.

arri vedsh on:. l yafter.All three int end ed tobri ng the advantagesot vari ous forms of enl igl:1tenrnent tothis iso l a ted cOlmlWlit y.Unfo n;ana t e ly. enedoc to r bec omesa shaky- bandedalcohol icvnc los e s patients; his wife be comes a loathlul . prejUdicedprescriptiondrugad d i c t; andene pa s c or be a esai! daug hterT:::-i!t'ie .!dnsandmuei1 acesshee p and sexually mole stsorphans.Byeneplay'S en d all is revealed, eaedoctoraz:.dhiswife are dead, chepastoris nai ledby on eb.an.d COatable,andth e loc al characters . all ofwh om ar e inone wa y or anot her sociallydistancedfrom on e anotherthroughoucthe play, leavethe sc ene together.

drawncloser by enebizarreseriesof eveccswhic hunfoldin theplay.

The plo t revo l vesaround aeeeeecstodecenLine--and

alcer:tac e lycohi de -- fir sc l y'",hohas be e ni(illing cne sheep, and se condlyveeha s lc':'lled cue pa scor' Sdaughcer Tri:fi e. Onene1Iiayco cbssolutionsoftheseevs ceeae s,manycebe r fo rms ofdec.repLcudeand viceareeeveared.Wegradually rec ognizeebacra ch e r t.hanbring ingene light: ofdiv ineor secular k.."1owledg etoa dep r i ve<1 populacion , ehemissiona.::'es have broug ht p:e judi ce,misunder s tand ingandchaos ::'0a corrmunicywhich seems abl e ::'0 mana ge itsownaffa irseeeeee than it s·...ould -be nelperscan.

::arl y inthe play, Dr.Melrose sugges::.s caa e whe!! chey firs ::. arrived ,he andhis wi fe Gr ac ewer-eNLo r dandLady Grenf ell- (Eil.Clearly, the famous Br it iSh medic al missionaryto Labrador and his res pe ctedwite we r etheir ch i ef ins pirati onand source for Iorhacthe y expeceed co enc c uncez.Mr.aasnccurne,Swyers a:arbour's resident recluse,....ho hasthe ereaee eeins i gt:.esotanyo ne inp.~ ~""i-,

simila rlysuggescs they were drawnby~theWil fr e dGrenfell th ing you see . . .Ott toa terriblyremot earea todo good works amongthenative s· (29). Thedocto r:

thre w hi mse lfinto . .The classicrural cecece thing.DaShing oft on missions otmercy, in da rkof nig h t.In bliz za rds. Small boa cs. aceseand slide-. (29-30 1 Grace ,acfi rst considere d"aswe e t 11tc lewoman,"

-or gan ized women's gTOUpSandGodknowswna.t~ (2 91.

II

'raeee·...asag::'e a ~ de al of L:l!or.nat:.:'o nav a':'!.aJ:llezee pr ospec:.':'ve:ni.ssionar:'e sC::INew! ound.! ar.c! int:..!lee3.:l:r c·...ene tee n cen cu ry co drawupon.Muc hofit, ae lea s t:the bul kof chat....hi ch....as wric.:.en by or aboutGren t e l::' , enc our aged ea e so rt.of a.ccicude thai:cne Melros es sl:a r:: ed.

out wiCh.RonaldRompkeynOCeSt.hat Grenfell'5 1919 auto biograph y A•abr a do r R9qgr -en c o u rag eda•...ho lenew ge nera t ion of aut horstowriteabout.Grenfe l l'slifeas a heroicbi ograph y · (20 31. Rompke y sugges t:.sthat Grenfe l l -emergedas a phe nomeno n dis tinctfromthe Missi o nie s e l:

.a romanticfigure . .afo lk her o· (2231.Grenfell descr i b e s inhero icterms the·' in erad icable Brit-iSh t=ait.· ·

(Me Lros eis fromOnt a r io, but wemust:.remember enae tr.any non-Britisb inthe timeof G~nf e ll'5mis si o nalsovere shown t.o posses st.hisBr i t.isht.rait. ) chac"'make s ea ee act.uallycra zy togoandle av e the fle s h. pot s anddwell in the ue e ermceeparts of the Empire'" (Rompk ey 212) _Gr enfell descr ibe s alllis sion whic h encomp a s s ed muchmorechan medical practice. noting such. endeavoursastransporti ng "min isters andtrave llers. "dist ribucinglibra rie s.bringi ng children to"t h e shelterof the orph anag e, " distributi ng food, usi n g his bo a cas a"f l oaCing courtof just.ice"whichsaw• ....ro ng doi n g puni Shed. · andinc erveningin booeleggingoper ati ons (Gr enf el l."I t \fas . _"25).The r e wasmuch. wo r!<: for ene wome nof eee missionas we l l, tea ching"'coo king. sewing.

12

weaving. knit::ing, vood car-ri~g. ene enree R'5' pia n o ress ces;> asvolunt e e r Caro l yn GalQra il:~ susges::s. :;l.ompke y ncc e s chat:many volunt e e r s worked c.ir e 1 9 s s1yal: 5~C~

endeavors:

exhibieing . .sa::isfac tionsastheywent.aecueca e caskofme-ecing cnepe ~c eivednee dsofa popula cion....it h which they had vi r tuallynOthin g in common. (244) The gapbeev eeemany out-side rsI perceptions and theLc c a ; real it ies of Ne wfo undl and'scue pe e e comnuniei e s was rei n f orcedfor Newf oundl andcomedy cotIe c cdveCOCCOdu:::-=gil

1973 I:ou ringvisit1:0sc.Anthony. HelenPeters ·" r i.c esenae the ecur ha d beenverysuc c es sful and audiences-tur:l.e dcu e indrovesandapplauded the actor s whoshowed cb.emcnac comedy could be made from thefabricof theireveryday lives."Bu t an encounte rwitha BritiSh nursestationedi:l 5t.Anthony-c aus ed thegroup'shea rt to sink. ·showi:1gthe:n thaI; their endeavour was vulnerable tosigni f i c an t misinterpret ation.The nurseinforme d them thaI; ~their

de pic tionof Newfoundlanders was _wonderful . I bow exac t.lywhat. you me&n. You know, I havetoworkwie!:l the$.

ev eryday '~ (Peter sxiiil.

The informationdisseminatedto pros pective missionaries . financ ial donorsandthegeneralPublic.

least by Grenfell himself,wa s in partfiction,ill

romanticized. her o i c versionof eventsinwhich-e ceu e f

13

eveaca'oIe r e recast. coserveeae gr e a :er91.:.:'pos e- -pun l i c:i c y foer theMis sion- (0 '3::ieo.rc c e vceato Gr enfell. -oceee- H) .and ...hi c n reinforcedsimpli~ied. cypiEied

ur.de r s : a.nding sof Newfo un d l andr5 eui.eureand peop le.Rompk a y

;,n; ites:

At.!hn d Qropctor '..as-.ric.ce nloI'i t h anaudien ce in

mind. It wasthekindof •....hole s ome' and'i ns t.ruc ~i ·/'e '

missionarylitera curemarketedby mis sionary societ ies throughout. the world. (2 00)

Gre n.!el l, tospreadene ide athat Ne wfoundl.a.nders ve xe desp e r a ee tvin.nee dof mis siona ry assiscance,indulged incondescending depiccionsof the peoplebe

served/sevec .Fo r Lnscance,he suggestsof one manhe was c:-:ying to ass i s t: -the intric a cie softhe prob l em had ene irel yfailed tope!lecrate l:1.is dullardcranium- (- Queer- Sal.Healsosuggest.s theman's -Ss kitnO blood- had cont.ribut.edec hisbeing wbe !:'eft. of all init.iative, and so inca pable, excep t underord e r s fr omothe r s,.of earning a li vel ihood - (4 9) . sucnsugseseions of native (in two se nses here)defi c ienciesamongthepeop le suggest not a soc i a l l y and economic a llystrugglingpe o pl e innee dof a han d·up , but rather asi mpl e(minde d) peoplein needof aperpeeual guidi ng han d.Mill icent arexeLode r, who was raisedina Labradororp hanagerun bymissionaries. suggescs:"the s::af~

",as good co us, bue al ways leeusknowt.hat. wewer -enot.

t.heirequals " u.an.

I .

bell hocks desc:-::'bes a i:.~~..dencyamong cacse ·...ic~

mis s iona r-f feeli:lgs,·...he Lnc.lu de a subscancial por':::'on ot pr esene -day",r icers....bewr i ce polit.i c a lly about margina l li c e r a cu r e S but.who do not~mergef:::"omcheirsoucca cuieures_She suggest.sthat:the working, res i s e i og voices

~the margin it selfmay beer a sed. consumedinthe translationby an outsidevo i c e --l l eueccesreevo i c e zccusestooexc l us i -re l y on Co'!.e SUffering. and. uocenoughon the actuali t y oforpot a'!oti alfor resiseingit.among tho se woo areSUf fe r i n g:

N.!2~~~~~QnJ.:£.iall!m~Y-'ll.U.:

Wn...I~t..Q~~ .It.2.r/....~khm.l ~uJJ.

ll~~~i.:l~~~Iti.l.ll~t.l2~i:l.

J.,W;.h4~~llhll~!DiJ1.e....m:t:2!!n. . l i.!!l

.w..u.

(343)

Mi ssio nari es suchas Grenfe l l saw eneeservesaspa r t of a chainof heroes. pa ssing theirlegacy on.ee succeedi ng gen e racionswhowoul dconc inueeo assistand. to speakfor margina l cultures;.'Today, . . I ambut ene spent runner.

han ding the t.orchto you. ''' hoar eburst ing ·" i th greater pot. en t ial for the ra c echan I eve r had' · (Gr@of el l in Rompke y 25 0 1.

The Melroses in~have been schoole d inthe Grenfel lianversionofNewfoundland. andpe rhaps hoped in

i

s

eae cegi=ing tb.a.e.t-lJ.ey:00'oIouldprove co be. as Gren!e!.!.

said ofhimel! and his-.ri fe, ·o f morec1:l.an or:ii n a :y abi l i:::y · (ROlnPk ey 218 1. Their firs : fe-.tyear s in S"'¥er::;

Ha::-bourvexe a missionary ' s fant a sy.At first., as Dr.Melrose sugges ts, it wa s "Ne,.,funland." They thought eae l.ocalpeop l e -veeequai n t.Sim;l l e.Hones t.Cha r:uing. .~

litt l e adverseto bathwate r perhaps . butcha rmi ng" P) . Mr. Washbourne sugge s t s tha t.for "tanyea rsor so i tvas a jollygood sh ow," but that.slo...ly. "itdawn edon themt:hae.

:;:he ywere crapped."The charact er of Fat-herPower inxi Pitt:nan'splay A Sose i\aa;a$t theSyn expresses similar feelingsof entrapment. He fears tha t i tbe admics to::~e Bishoptba.the ba s fai ledtori d eae localpeople of che i r superscitionsandasks fora transfer. the Bishop-"ill -sure ly punishmebymakingme spend eae eese of myli~ e her e .- Onebe eene ehand. Fal:he:- Power fear sI:hat ifhe does nOI:goco ebe Bisbop. -he' l lI:hinkI'mhappy ee e e and le a v e me ber e1:0 spen dene restof my lifl!.What an awful sca ce 1:0

be in- (13).

Mr.aasnbcurnesugg e s t s eeae ene first SC'ii!Pinthe Melroses' gradualentrapmenl:occurredduring th e Depressi o n . duri ngwhich:

Thebe a lchboys inse.John 'sdidn'l: hav eace n t eo blesscne eser ve ewit:h . They hadMelros e he reand che y weredeterminedtokeep himbere.

t6

St::-...:c:k in S"'Ye: s:ia:l::our for much long e ::, chan they"e.!::'e :tle~c.all yequipped for , theMelroses ea rne d co t.n e c xacan c s to eoceneeheir growinganxi ec.ie s.Themedic al admi.a d.a t.z-ac.ar-a, beli eving ic.wo u ldbe dif~ieultec fi n da replacement. for thedoct or. leftOr.xe t eeee to pra c ticeinS""¥ers fiarba ur thoug h the y!<.'"le ·...."his sca lpelgot:shu i e:::-ashi snoot e n consump ti onrose_"AsWast'.bournesugg ests. "y ou know.t..a.ili k.Lnd oflogi c .beet er ape rp etua l l ypissed sevboc es thannone at all" (30 1 .

It is su g gesce d in.~tha t cne de cisio neoleav e Dr.Melroseinhis pr acticeinSwye rs Harbo ur is symptcrnac ic of insti tutio na l veexce ese s,reinforce d bymec.ropolicat:.

ind i ffe r enc eamongSt.John 's admi nis t r a torsreg a rding the

·..ell-beingofthecucpoxts.Mr Wa sbb ou rne sug g e sc s: "I t sorneeim e s se ees . doeso.' t it.• . . .t.h a.e St. .John's looks on Lcs cue pc ce bret.hrenas seco nd. cla s s cit. izens, inde~· () Ol . Perhaps t.he mos t. st.riking singleindicaco r ot thela ckor:

subs t ant ial re pr es en t at ion of t.he well- be i ng or:ind i vidu al cucport. s has been·t heecea r abs en ceotany localgove nme nt.

ouc sid e theca pitalcity,St.. John's, · whichGeral d M.Sider des cribes as -ceeotthe most salient eee euee e ot the Newfoundl an dstate."Sidero.o tes tha t thi s situa tion

·pers is t edpase the midc";ientiethcentury" (991 . This legislativecentrismwas m.irror ed by a simila r ten dencyin the med i cal establishmen e. Dr.Charl es Curtis ,

17

successox co Gr en f eLl .in eae Labradoreri.ss i.en, :r:a:'nr.3.i~e.j a~

ind H ~ e r e nc ecoward cne s;eci f iccnaeecee rof eae coesaunacieshe ser-ved . and co chei rvar-[ingne eds.Dr.Tony

~addonpoinc s ouc:

Or.C'.1rcis neve r evenvisit.ed nort.he n.

[,abrador . Dr_ Curt is wa s notco visit:the nor::~e:-:1

sca e xces unci l 1950. c·"ency ·sixyearsatee r he had ass umed the superi nc e nde:lCY.

ce. 2addon suggeststhat suc h indi ff ere nc emad eit.diUic':.!.l::

for norcheocommuni ties toaeearnproper medical C&::'2. He sugg e s t s cha r:sev era l doc t orstryingecwor:< innorcnern Labrador-fel t.that.coo I'llUCllemphasi s,andcoomany resources .were centr'edinSt.Anthony (checentralmission scat-ion]~ (14 2). In enefi cti ona l communityof Swyers Barbour, Dr.Mel ros eandhis wife. and those ..,ic h ·...nomehe y rae e e ace, suf ferbecauseof decis ions made byacene :::-:'st.

adrnini s era e ion in ae.John' s.The Melroses ' romane i cvision hasbeen destroyed and. ehe yhave vancedtole a ve foralon g eaee, but:becauseof inst.i t.ut i ona l pressures combined"'i t~

ene doctor'sdecreas ingsu rgical ccepe ee ec e, r.heyremai n. Or.and Mrs.Me lrose respo nd ec t:heir peece tvee impr i so nmen t indif f ere n t ways, thoughr.heysharechemical addict. i o nas a cop i ngmet-hod.Mrs.Melrose ismore obviously bitr.e r,aswell asmore ful l y possessedof, andmor e willi ng eo expres s,pz-e '[udLceccwaxdsuch isolatedcommunitiesas Swyersxarbou r.

is

Mrs.Melrosei!1tendedin!;ler miss:"onaryfa:lcasyeo mode~i ::!!. ci vil iz e, ile e erboroug h- iz e rnepeopleof svyee s Ka r b our '",hi le herhus ban d he a led cnem, But Mr. 'iJashbOUr:l e suggests: ~A.s theplace clos ed about herhead, shedevelop ed.

a loa t hi :J.g for nerparis hi one::-s.· She~asunable co e!:ec=

anymir a cles,andfac:gd with the pe rsist-ent.re a l i e yof a popu l a cionshedid neeund ers t and andcould no t chan ge.she grewbitt er:

Oh, sae still tr o ts al ong eoplay mot-h e rhe n athe r

·...omen'sgroup. Bu t shefl i ng s out t.b.emoSt bitt:e=

sarcasmat them . in a form she~to be ""e ll above che ir ·...oode nheads [mystress]. (30)

In Pittman'5 .;Rgpej\O'aip5l:the Sup, the teach erMic:~e l

Kennedy undergoes a si mi la.rsh i ft in pe rcep tion. rej e ct.ing hi s initial, romanticstereotype of thefictionalcOllIlIUnicy of xe rasneeeonce he eac oua t.eca the inevitab le ug l ines s.Re be c omesfixate dupo nit andisunabletoattainabalanced visi onof a ce:m:nunity whichincludes bothbeautyand uglines s.ae st a r tsOUt with aotionsof"Asea f aring peopl e,

.the stu ffnovelsandpoe msandplaysare madeof,"and endsup assertingtha t:

They ar emuchtoo pet tytobe fa scinating, too greedy CO be admire d,too narrow-minded tobe int eresti cg,and tooself -centredtobe lovable. (231

Hesuggeses : "Chr ist , ie'senoug h to makeaperso n si c k... I don't know ·"hy I eve rcamehereinthe firs t place" ()7- 8l.

19

In-_.:-'.a,xee.xerecsecannc cacce p t C~uace s-s cen c

pe:tap5 mo r e locallysu i c.ab l e than cnacwhi c h she posse sses. Ray Guy is adamant.in poi n ting ou t. bec h che k."'1Qwlec.geof cce OUC;J0r t personandthef:'~entlac kofrecognie i o nof a eby peop le for eigntotheouti'Qrts. In "Just: a l?Unta.nda Jigger,"hesuggests:

Theseso-called·poorh.umble fish e::me n " hac!. to have ll10re knowl ed g e tuc k ed away in th ei :'we a t h e r-be a t en skul ls c~a jet pileI: has. (VglIMilIv Kro.., 311 In"No t so seuncee as Fast,"a res e ar c h er from the ficr.io[".al

"'I n s t i t u c e for Researchin t o FiumanAbil ieies ' " tr :' o:! s coask academic questions about"t heDar.,iniannot ion. Cha t in t d l i g e n c eis adaptable "toan.old fisherman whohas ::ecen cl ymoved. toBungacre Tickle in accordanc e-"i ::!J.

Small....ood'sreseeereeeac program., ques ti onswh i c hthe fisherman's grands on whoishomefor the summerfr omToronto crie s totranslate (~117) .The fisherman,bUSy gutt ingfish. either igno r es, canno t he a r. or doesnot unders t andeaejargonisticquestions , and the researcher begins to los epat.ience:

"You'rewastingmyva l uab l etime . I havebet.t er chingst.odo cnae sit he r e inthi s abominablesc eacnand.

banterwit.h youtwocret.insall day." (1 1 8) Fina l ly, t.he grandson put s t.hequest.ion in eeees

20

....net!:l.e ?:ycutre soGod-damnedseueeeesi nce yo umove di:l he ::-:!

as youal wa ys •...as!~ (1l91. G.M. Story support sGuy's position, sugg esti:1g' ena e t:aditionalcutporc people.

thoughtcx1ay they....ould beclassed as ·unskil leC. ~en themode!:Uindu s t rial market. achieveda virtuos i t y i:1 technical accomplishmentswhichenab l ed chemt:J con sc ruccthe irownhou s es, bui l d th e irownboats, and conductafishing ope ra cionrequiring ju dgme n t., ski ll . a.nddar i:lg.

St oryalso notes a rich or alcul t ure, ·p a r t i cul a rly cx e a cc.ve in song- andals ori chin oral li t erat ure,·"hie.!:!.deveLc pe d in cae cuepccea (33).

Mr s.xei eeseis notin te r e s ted in the loc al bowledgeof cuepeopleof Swyers :iarbour.She wants -t heexistenceof the marginal-but neeits -marg i na l spe c ifi c i t i es · (Gun e '''' 143).because thesespec if ic i ti e smake theloca l peopl e less malleable to her aims,lesssatist:yingto her missionary ego.Russell?e =guson sugge s tscnae -thepowerot: cue center depend son a relati vel yunchalleaged au thority.- zesus-seses that there is a threattothesupporting paradigm ot:the cent r e figure inh erent in -theve.ry processotbecomi ng vi s ibl e-that occurs vnen-hi s t oric ally marginali zed groups inds eon theirownidentity - (10).

Justas there ispracticalknowledgeinOUtpO~

21

ccrrmund c Le s cha t. hasgone unrS!C~i %e'iby out:5 :'c!.e: s. i:~e::'~

are s!li:itualbelie f s -.rhichare pezvasxve LnS;orye ::,s ~ar~cu=

and also i:l.j\gopeoc-a i n u "ali!Sun'sxe easneee·...hi:hcef y or exc en d beyond. :nai nst.:e am Criscianicy. andwhichar!!loo k ed upon as unccemcnj.ystrange and dubious ,as "s upe : s e it.ic us,"

by char act e r s ·...hos e belie f sy scems havedevelope del s e where.

Fac h e : Powe r in ARpe e Aaainst t.he Sun lament s cha t. be cecece rid t.hepe op le of Merash een of bel i e f s tncccs rseece

·...ich Catholici sm :

?cr allmysermonsandprayers, theyremainave r y su pe r s c i c i ouspeopl e.Theybelie ve it is badluc k to coila rope ag ainst: ene sun , eo purchase anrccein May They bel ie v ethat.de athis forecol dby abirden t eri ng aroOtll. Theybelievein banshees and fairie s . the s e pe ople . good caeac tIe sthough theyare,arepr one to liveanddieaccordingeothe beliefsconta ined andnurturedinthe se -c ha rming- tal l ta le s. (U~1 2l

Simil arl y. Mrs.Melro s e . onc e she has becomethoroug hl y e!llbitt ered, pouncesonthe supers tit i on sof theloc a l people inorde r to shoW'that SwyersHarbou r is-l i k e ali t t l e piec e of theDa r k Ages tr appedherefo r all time among ee e e e roc ks.- She ri di cules thecasti ng of bread upon thewa ter afterTrif fie's disappearance.apr a ccice··loos ely basedon a Biblical passage -- inwhi c h the breadissuppos ed tocome to float ove r the bod yofthe drownedperson (lOJ .

Mrs.xer eeeealsosl;.gse s~stnac eee ccemu...~i::'lis de grade d. andthat.Lc•...oul d be ~b e c te:'toce tn hell ''''it ~a brokenba ck.0\mercHal Godinve ntedthe 31a ckoeacn fo r pi.e ce s like cnis- (J91.She !ails co re -::ogniz ec:!1ac theon1.:r real degradatio n amoc.g the local people is in vdnce nc Sis ho9.·...heis psychologicall yscarred fro m WorldWar1'""'0. andeaeenosines s.gos si p,re cl usiv ityor exces si ve hU~·l.eing. ....hichar e char acceri scicofcuelocalcnaeaeeees in the play. ar e bardlydeg r a dedbehaviour compar e dto Mrs.Melro s e' s dt'Ug addicr::ionand parci :::ipationinthe killingof apadene_The Ne....foundlandpolit ical eneaer e colle ctive1beMummer sTroupe, in~~eirpl a y~

Se il} :i pon't They" . addres s the ongoi ng cont r ove r sy over the

Ne ....foundl and. seal hunt,and....ith it a long traditi o nof il l-informe dexc e rnaf judgments of va riou s aspe cts of xe....foundlandcui.cure.~orge, illsealerandfish erman. ....ho consc an cly struggles comake endsmeet, reads aloudto his wi f e illletter, ·postmarkedFlorida~:

"rcu diny rcceeasonof a bicch.I fI could ge t to you I'dbeae yousen s elessandthenI'dski nyou r hidelike youdo to the seals.You'r e a mean bastard . youdie . .Yourenemy for ev er,JohnFul ton.~

Ihope

(The Muamers181

The Mwmnersalsoinc l udeintheir playasong....hich enca psul a t e s theculturalscereotypingwhic hfrequentl y has

13

been. pa~of a.nt::'·se aling campaig:1s , and "hi::b.suggeSl:S:::b.e sortot stere o e j'!]i ng to'''hic!:lNe ·..d~ oc.ndlandas a. marginal cult u r e hastr a d i tional l y beenvulnerable:

Blood·thirs t yNe·....toundlanders, Spit on them,curs eand sl and er, The r a'shalf ofeueenot worth TOwal kuponGod'5ear c u . Ruthle ss, sa va g e spoile rs, Barbaricne a rtLee a swilers, Thebrunt of mainlandb.umour. Isal l the y 're bl ood y wor 1:h. (281

Or.Mel r o seisueecezcecemewiehhi s wire ' s hate!".!l

=anting about eae local people.HehasgoodinsightSint o loc alcul t ure.is ki nd. in hissoci aldeal i ngs. andis generallyjustmore likeablet~she is .But beneeca Dr.Me lrose'sge nu i n e civilitylies an equa l l yge nui n e unde rcurrent of self-s erving indi f fe re nc e.

one mig h t: be te mpt edto evee eepbesiee Dr.Melrose'5 sympat heti cside be c a us eof the ceuc e e e ehe offe rs to his vit ri o l i c wife.Herecogn izes that the belief among rnanyin the communi tyin~The Strange r~as a cul pri t for al l sorts of mischie f , which Mrs. Melros e regards asa supe rs ti tion indic a t iveof the irbeing·s oftinthehead .· is theproduct of cen t:urie s of abuse suf feredat th e handsof va r ious ac t:ualst r ang ers (51_Healsohasins i g ht:into, and sympat:hy

~or. eneplig ht of locally scecrcned American seevaeemee·"roO az e le f ::. there after''''arldWa r Twa.whc have missedthe glory of ~ti ckercapepar ades · anda ·be ro's welcome- and ar ele f:.li.e.ge r icg fa r from home ·unT;il St a t.e s ide decides wha t to do ..,i t ~tha t anti~ su.bmarinecamp out onthe pa i n e·

(6). Thou g hhespeaks sympa t.hetic a lly and means it., Dr.Melr o s epe r si sts inhis med icalpract i ce desp it e his debilita tingalco holi smandche dan ge ::-hepos e s tohis pa tie n t s. He display sa selfish re fu s al coacbowl edgehi s in c ompet e n c e anda ·....illingnessto ignore th e well -bein gof hispaeie ne sin order tohidehisdecrepitud e fromh.imsel~. 5arl y incn eplay, webearwfcn e s sto hisdenial, as he de scribe s Triff ie'sbir ch:

He::- motherdied.youse e. when shewa sborn . Th ere . .complicati ons .That'$ what'ste f eyoung Tr Uf iedealingfrOGla partial deck. (1ll

Evenas everyone aroundhim starts co ca e c aon, Dr.Melr ose st illdeniesthe r e isaproblem..A.unt Millie diplomatically sug gest s that -he likes his scattered drop.· and not esthat a dc ee ce-, unst e adyunde r theeffec t s of li quo r, mighe "g o to workand chop out thewrongbi t s · {l6-l 7};andMrs.Melrose , inadrug-addled fr e nzy. sa rcas ticallysugges tstbatmaybe be couldget a positi onatthe -Mayoclinic,eh, doctor?Mount Sinai? -, andthatbe migbtbe abl etoteac h me dical st ud en ts~tosk ina cat. whi s k e ydoctor . Whiskey

25

dcc c cr.Whis keyece ecr- (6). Mrs. Me lr:::ls8 no tesenae :r.aro:/

of I:.::'a doc l:.:Jr ' sfor.ne :-pat i e n ts are go ing to St.Joi".n's~:::l:- ceeacaeneee spiee ea econs i derab lejcuz-ae y.Despir.a I:.~ is, ::e pe rsi s ts in treatingenceewho st i llcome co him, sucnas thedeve lopmencallydelayedTriffie whose fa t he r is caugheupin his religious frenz y tocare aboucI::Lis daughter'searc.h.ly fate.

Dr .Melrose ,unlikehis wife , doesnee cum to In r cxt.c acLcn coescape f:-Cfn eue loc alpeo pl e,but rathe:-co es c a pe :::::om ene pai :l of s::ifled ambiti on.Eisdr,mkenness :-e i n for c esthr oug hboechedoperacions'the unpromis i ng scacus of hiscare e r,...hi c~in cum reinfo rceshi s aeed codrink..

Dr .Melrose iscaug h t i:l.a cycle of denial ba sedon hisaee c eo feel a sense of cont rol.This nee d is implicit in bois or i g inalmissi onary impul s eand, Rompkey sugges es , ic...as al s oa eeexac eeete e a c af his role model, Wilfred Grenfell: -U one pacternf!mergesfrom his life, it isehe scrugglf!to concrol" (2971.

As eneell1Elrgence ofche erueh abOutTrit fi e's dea t h bec omes mor eobviouslyimlinen t, Dr.Melrose lose sevenhi s feeblesemblance of control. He begins toreal izehow abominablehe and his wifebothhavebecome.andhe helps herto escape inthe onlyway hecan chink of: inje c eing her . whenshe as ks fo rmor e drugs, witha ta c a loverdoseee morphine, ~enough todrop aCl ydesdale ~ (43 ) . Previ ou s

26

ecch is, ''' e see his composure, be q inn:'::.';"eocrack. ;;:en:.nc:s at. ene boc cbed abortion eaeck:'l1sT=i .::fie, in adrunke n monologue tothe inve s cig a t ing Rang e r. Speak i.ngof cae sexual l ypredato ryVince n t Bish op, he suggest.s c:ta t prec ::.:

cnesetalenteddigits will be calledon once more to. . .abo:::, abor t, aeeee,Sa.Ha rd coPorcandflare coStarboard..Tea, Serge an t.? (32)

Tri ff ie'5fa t-al aborti onand the even tsle ad i n gupto r e and followi ng itare Lndf cacLve of hew the Melroses adv e rs elyhaveafte cced the peop le theyoriginallycame co help.Mr s.Melro se. becauseof he rla ckoffai t.hinea e me n t a l capacities ofcnepeople of Swyers liarbour codeal wicheheiraff a i rs . leads events on a disascrous path . Fi rs c:ly,aft erdiscoveri ng that:Tri!fie anda local boy named Billy:lead are actuall ybl oodsiblings fa t h e =ed by Pottl e . she cornersBillyandthreatens to castratehim if he triestoha v e sexual relations with Trif t'ie . Sherefu s e s. howeve r. totel l !:lim oranybodywhy he should not. feelin g that he is ::lOt capableofdealing '"it h theinformatio n ina civilizedway: ~Iknowwhat th e s e people are like.They're simpleminded, the y'reretarded~(6 1. Shele av e s Billy, who Mr.Washbourne describesas"no geniusbut

stupidashemayappear~ (28 1.with empty thr eat s which he as a. prope r you c h defi es. "ae c a u se she . she t.hreac ened

2;

rne" (4 :..l. Tri t' fi ebecomespregn ant, as the do c tor someh ow cs .sccvecs :.Ih:' !eexami ning he rfor an ufca r eced leg.Mrs.Melros e, It.''1owingitmus::.be 9illywh ocas

irnpregna~edher,insis ;:son an abor::.i on(42) , ee cut en c ce anincest u ous pregnancy whic hshecou l dhave preven tedby t:::-.1s::.ingBillyor his adcpnLvepa rents'"iththe relevant:

in format i on.

The cccccr'5 will ingness to place othersat risk is display e dbyhi s·...illingne ss toperf ormthe operationat all , especiallyinthepr esence of hisfr ant:ic wi fe shouting , ~R:'Pit.out.Ri pitcuc."He says inhi s final conf essi on: "It all ven t;tl!!r::"ibly·" r ong.· Be re f ers to the ope r a t.ion,bu t the scec eeenecould alsorefereo his,.,hol e ca reer , andtohi s sch eme, fol lowin gthe op e ration, tocc var up the czue cour s eof events bypu t.ti ngst ab woun d s into Trif! ie'sbackandt:hrowi ng he rmee thewater, Ic1cwing he

",.,culd betheonly examiner.I t:h o ughc I'dbe able tocover , .~ His intentio nto absolv e himselfof

responsibilityandpre sumablytoke ep pra ct i c ingmedicine in Swyer sHarbou rultimat:el y be come s re pugnant to him. His ac knowl e dgmen t inthepla y's fina l scene of hisown repre he ns ible ac t s, andh1s sacrif ice ofhi s ownlife to protec t BillywhenPoe tle atta cks himla t er in eae scene, redeemhimasa.sympatbet:i cceeeeccee.thoughperba psonly sligbt ly: ~MyGod. what\o"ret:cbedne5S~ (42). Th e recognit i on

28

come siaee. aft e::-T=if : i e'sde at h re pe e.cs ea ae ofber eceae r, oneof Or.Melrose'searl y -los s e s,- a second.

gene=acionofsurgical death at the ~sof a doccorve e has been unabl e::'0 lee: go of hisambir::i on andit sres idue en ou g h tocaregenuinely for hi s pae renes,or toresigr-.

Ancellermis siona ry coSwyers Harbour ....boseca pa city ~o=

caringisli mi tedtohimsel f is Pasto r scee re.The pas::.or is aca ricatur eof evangelical sr c c eeeeaepreac he r s .whom Guy sel!tl\S to have cc e ecedinorder tosacirizi!a cr:adit.i on of r;!l igiousmissi onariescc cucpo rt; Newfoundla."1d.

Mi ss iona ri es like Jac ob GeorgeMount.ainandWil liam '/lilscnwhovrc ce.in 1855and1867 respecci·.rely ,abou t. ::.hei=

experie n c es inNe....foundland. reg arded the bulkof Newfoun dLande rsas spi ricuallylos t ..~in the :.Ior1.d "

(WilsonHS) who despe r at:e ly ne ededguides.ForWil s o n, eae roleoteach evangel icalchurch 10ra s toref l ect "thelight:

fromtheSunofrighteous ness· tothe '"reg i onsbe y ond,·"to the "d e e p recessesof mor a l darkness,~ withthegoalof ensuring eaae "e achandeve rylandenjoys thelightandene bless ing sof pu re, Pro t:e stant Cb:is t:iani t:y "(24.3) .Like Wil son, ~'s scee.teassumesthat: t:ha t wh i c h isbeyo nd what: he knowsorwhat: he re c ognizes aseeueandprop e r Christianityis most like lyev i l.Thepas tor' sprejudice s cometothefore whe nhe remarksaboutthe reclusive Washbourne:"Theold man inth ewoods.Wha t gui l t:ysecret s

19

I:::'e::-e ?iiha::darknessca s sec him. Olpar:~romeae CUSCOtl!.ar.d.

heaz-ts oe his fellow man?MOSloOr. Melrose ncc ea I:hat. cne

"good folkef Swyers F.a rbour "had gone 1:0cue churchaf::er

ye t eaccae emutilatedshee p hadbeen discovered. co t::"'.1t::l

prevent -ene Pas torandhis liccle flock" from.ac cusing and at.tac k ingWas hbourne.The deccorsugge s cs chac the communi c y fo r ene mos t part recogni ze chat Pot t l e would -g o for someone l=.ke ·.iashbourne· insuch cd.rcums uance s.

" (Washbo urnel lives apart. andal one.~e' seee e cexae- ui. As well, che ;laster mayvery well be expl oit.ing loc a l suspici ons about the myste r ious Washb our:l.e in or de r to cover up t.he recc cbat hekilledandmutilacedcaeshe e phimself. acenofthe s epassagessuggesta t.en de n cy amongre l i g i ou s mis siona r i e s tocarget the marginal. as Mrs.Melros eals o does. eitherfor conversionor pe r s ecutiondepe!ldingon cheir re lac i ve pliability.

The undogmatic. relat i ve l y flexible - a n-de t ail s approa c h corel i gion that manymissionaries havelamentedas being char a cteri sticof Ne wfoundland e rsis taken co ca skby sce cae,who sugg es c s that all the res i de ncs ofS;"yers Ha r bou r except hisownfloc k-i gno r ethe word ofGod.Their parro t ed prayers. theirlip serviee to the Scriptures· {34}. Poc::le'5 rhe t oricis pepperedwi ch suggesei onsChat:Swye rs Harbourisnotrigo rousenoug h inlivi ng acc o rding co God's wor d.The pastor'sowninte rp r e t:a c i onof what proper

30

:."el':'g io~en ce i.Ls ra cruees oppositioc.co·Sac a.n' 5 C:-ta.:.-':'CC- (10) despite cheobv iousadvant a ges of aucomobilesfor a scacee eecpopu l a eion, andeo medications givenby Dr.!4elros eeo t:.he pastor'spar ish i one:'s forill ness e s :,.:1ey eavecc ce e ee e ee from spir i cual lycl e an sin girrme rsio ns incbe fo r biddinglycol d Newfoundland wate r s (3) . Pot t leis unwi lling torespect. cbe specific cba racter of the ccmmuni cy ae ecc ecacees, favouringins tead not onl yene spiri:: but.an excruciatingminutiae of thedecailsof his prev i o us l y conseructedpar adigm.

The smal l c:ongregacionof Pastor Poccle'schurc!:lare alllOn g SwyersHarbour'sllIOS:'down-trodden ee sreeees.

Mr s.Melrose suggescs: -They'reene bcccca of ene barrel rightnow. right.The y come from tnelow end of cne soci a l scale.AAdt!:l.eeconomi c scale.· She suggescs euae ebe pascor offerschem an ec e rni cyof rich es chat:wil l neeonly eceeeesa e efor cheireart:hl y pove r ty. butwil l exc lude those who ridiculeor oppre s s the m:

The n the y'l l be che one s. . whilethe othe r sare howl i ng forever ove ra slowtire. .who' l lbe enjoying che newche scerfie ldsurees, che Aladd i n lamps. che gas wa shing mach i nes .wha t e ver goodies t.hey supposearewai cing for them upeaee e, (31 The encourageme n t:ofearchl ypas sivene s s inwait:ingfor heave nl y rewardechoes Mountai n 's adv ice co his pa rishioners:

31

xeveebe at ::-a i d or ashamed of beingpoor . but.be greac:ly afraid andas ha me dof being . envi ou s, eeve ec c s . in yourpcvexcy .Thi s is most.wr-et.chedofall

co have theev i l thi n g s ofLazarus ne...., yet.to be tormentedwithDiveshe r eafte r. (xvii

Ra t.he r chanen co ura g i ng biscongregation 1;.0 becter chei:::- s Lcua t.Lona, Pot tleexploit s thei r despera t.:'onand. class je a l ou sie s in order to ensur ehimself a following.He preaches a revenge....hichappe a l s co those wh o feel sociall y or economicallyoppre s sed or neglecc ad.Mrs.Melrose rec ogn ize s thisappe al:

cne y know(rev en ge isl comingsu r e and soon.Sot.hey gloat. . And enae makes them happy.What a comfOrt.

re l i g ion is, to be sure, in moreway s chanone. OJ Petele rei nf orc e s thesoc ial andec onomi c disadvancages of hisparishioners byenc::ourag i::tg t!:l.elll cowai t forGodco be cb.e age nt of cheir reve nge instead of re cognizingand struggling against thesources of their poverty . The bell hooks passagequo tedabove reg a rdingthe desire of th e speaker - f or-the-marg i ns for ene vo iceof pain minusene voiceofxesLs canceis appro priate in this instance as well. Pottl e needs the voiceof pai n to feed hismessianicego, bu t thevoi c e of resist.ancewould make eee cureheoffers su pe r fl uous . Hiscongregat.ion are good (fo r himl be cause they aremargi nal ized by ot.he r s anddo not wan t to go on

32

~=el:.:l.gexcl uded, ·...hile;.ras hbour:1e is evil orat rease sus p i ciousbe cause helivesi:lthemargins bychoice_The past:)rpr e ache s a stri ctl yexclusioo.ist:foundat:ionfo r margi na l it:y, in....b.i ch. hea venly reve nge is soappeal ing becaus e , ....it:hinthe pa ramet e rsof hisexp lanation , livingin themargins can only be re garde das deprivation, andthe ecernat goal for his fl oc k mustal....aysbe toattai n the elus ivecent r efor enesset ve s, or rat her eo....aie forGcd 'Co do it. for euee,Wasbbourne'schoice ebrows this simpliseic understanding of cult.ur a l margi na l i t y incadoub t, sosceere must vil l a i ni ze the que s :::ion marktokee phis flock from aski ng quest:.ion~.

?oe e l eisirrmers ed ina sec tarianstruggleamong Chriseian denomi nation s in Ne wf oundl.andwhic!:lprioricize s ce r ritorialscrugg l e s for capital (humanandmone earylove r ene·...ell-being of pa rishio ner s.Ran dDyck points OUt enae the •apparenthomoge neity"of Newf oundland,ethnical l y speak ing, "iscomplicatedbythe int.e r e s tingdistri bu t.ion of re ligi ousaf f i liatio ns."Dyck point scue ene "impo r e ant.and unusual role" of religion in Ne wfoun dland, noeing tha t "eac h of the mainaffil iat i on sestablished itsownscho o l system andsome outportccmununities have had as manyas enee eor fourtinyschool s" (5 21.Therehas beena gener a l unwillingnes sbased onse c t.a rianfeeling eoallow caemixing of diff e r e n t. den ominat.ionswithin onesc hool,or co ke e p

=eligionin eae backgroundi:1 ecncots in. ceeee toal:cw in t 2 :--de n omin a t iona l cooperatio n.Guy isexp lici t in his c=iticismof such divisi veness,addressingin MA Spiri: of iiisdomandceeee- thedif~iculcyenaeouq:o r : communicies haveha d at;::-a cci ngteachers . He ccees ctiac theee acbere the y mana g ed, inthe timeof his you th, eo rec ru i t to wo rk in the irtiny denomina~ional schools:

taOSl:l ywereeigb~een.and t...enty-year -olds....be had barelyscraped~heirheelsthroughgra d e eleven . andwho couldn' tteacha ch i mpan z e e topeelabanana.Or taOrematuremisfits who ....ere si mply despe r a te~o rene eightybucks aece ee,

GUy notes thaI: they could have hadonede c ent; sc ho o l for everythre eOr fourtiny one s,exce ptthat thesc h oo ls rep r e s e n t ed -e ure e or fourdiffer entdencednacLcns. Christiandenominations.MHe reques ts; MSO it you ple as e -- d on ' t talk tomeencu cene gl o r ies of den ominatio n a l educ a tion. Because Imay vomitM_(~$.)•

Miche l Poucaule wri t es of a "ba ttle•for truth,' or at least 'a roundtruth'M{lJ21whic hseems very accurately to de s c ri be thesectarianseparat i onof sc hoo ls....hic h GUy sugge St s was debili t a tingtothe "po te n tialdoc to r s, lawye rs. teach e rs,engineer sandskill ed trade s men....ee ve re cuedown befor etheywere ol d enougb toshave " {~6l. Foucaultsuggests cha t thebattle fortruth is:

neeamact.e~of a baeei.e "enbe!la l f· of the c:'Uc:t.eue of a bat.tle anouc ebe aea ecs of truthand theecc eceuc and policical roleit pl ays . (13 21

This is cer':.ainlycne casein SwyersHarbour, as Guy is ca reful topoint eue.The Pas t or,when he fi : s t ar:-ived i:1 ccwn,preached infront ofAuntMillie 's post off i ceunci !.

shemade himgoaway.And then,asMrs.MelrosenOC5!S, he rent.gdt.he scho ol.The schoolboa rd.wa s gladco cake his coupleofdo llars until untilhe began hoo king ina fewMe thodis t.sand even t.heocca sionalClu:::,o of Englande r.Hego t hi s wal kingpapersonc emo r e. {21 Thepa s co r rema inshope ful: ·We'l !. navea scho o l. oneday, glorybeec God.Aplacewhere the pomps andvanit i e sof th iswicked wo rld maynot. enter - (34).Wil s o n discusses the evolut.ionof the ·Churo ·o f-Englan d School seeae evfor Newfoundlandand the Colonie s,·whichat firs t allowed wesleyans such as Wils ontoparti c ipate in administ.rac ive matt ers in vnacwas Urs t knownsimp lyas ene Ne wf oundlan d School Socie tywhe n itwasest abli s hed in 18 23.The Wesleyansintu rngaveregula r donations to theschool fund s.withthe helpat the We s l e yans' mone y, schoolswe r-e buil t ina numbe r of coamunities.Followi ng thiscoo peraci ve beginning. the namechan ge tookplace, and·o ur peopl efrom he n cefort hweredebarredall managementor co nt rol inthe sc hoo ls.· Headds: •Persecuti on, also, wa s not quitekept

35

k:'ck edou tof tne scaoc f building ·...henca epoee n::ial lo ss of buma..'lcapita.lbega nEo r e~eot~e~denomi ~ eionsto cue-...eigh themone ea.r-,advane a ge ofhistenancy.As rc c ce u i esugges ::.s.

ener e isno ba tele -eebehalf - of enetruth , sincecenancy

·...as notre f u s ed tothe pa s tor onprinc iple fro m ;:he outsec.Thexer nodfats and ibglicanswerenot cc nceraed about caespiritual fa teof those wncdidneebel o ngeo eheir owncongregatio ns.'\5 longassec er.e'scongrega eio n ca mefromeLaever'e,tbe schoolowners werepe r f ecelyhappy eo colle ct rent. Thecnur cnes aredepicted as power player s with nosubstant ial stake in the·...ell · be i ng of pa re icul a r out po r t cormtUIliei es,whoseresidentsare reduc ed to commodieies in inter-denomina ti onal struggles. Re f us ing to ren e ene sc hool eo Pote le ineaefirst pl ace ·...ouldstill have de nied acknowled gmentof ind:ivi d ual agenC'.1 to the peopl e ofSwye r s Ela r bour, who wouldhave be endiscourage d from makingan institutionallyunpo pu la r cho ice, but at lea s e would haveabsolved eae chur chesofhypoc risy inea e matt er.

The past or'smoeivationsarefor the mostpare inacce ssible, buehypoc :isyruns 50 deepinhimchat it is clea r one ehi ngthae isnot among his goalsis the ac t ua l improv ement of anyone at al l.Rat. he r thanact ive lyengaging wit h theSwye ~ s Har bour communiey to help themoverc ome what

36

he :egards aschair spi=i.cua l cor=uption.he mer ely=a i l s agai:::ls cthem.Hesugg e st s of hisdead daughcer:

She is00'" sat e fromeae gainsaye r sAndtheneysayers . safefrom th eidJ.e and blasphe moustongues of eae ungodlyandtheunsa ved ofch is Sacan-ridden plac e . safe fr om thevno redcms of Bab ylonandSwye r s aarbo u r. earefrom the Clrist·ba t ing goss ips and scol ds , saf e from the mockersand idolat ers. safefr omthe

•

...horemongers • (24)

He re c ogni zesthe flaws and shorcc omi ngs injust abou t eve ryone inen e c:olmlUni ty accura te l y 1) 5) . bUI:is tOO iamer s ed in his apocalyp tic fr enzy eot::yac o:;.uallyeo help anyone. HI!ee eee s eve ry criticismof himself or encse cccnec t.ed to him as an ass aul r.on Godwo rthy ofeternal 9UOishI:lentinhe l l, noting that. eh e childrenchat: made fun of Trif fie . called hera "Ho l y Rolle r" anda "Jesus Jiggerj ogger." e.b..rev mudathe r ande.ook her Biblefrom her. wi l l al l "s uff er for the irsins soonenough" (34) .Mountain si milarl ysuggests: "The actof insolence or disobedienc e pas s e s atonc e gnfromthe representati ve tothe person repres e nted [fromenepr e a cher to God]" (xi i).

Iebec omes apparent asthe playprogress e sthat ene pas t o r 'svillai nizi ngof thepeopleof SwyersKarbourin generaldoesnoe.waverfr om hisvi1l ainizing of Washbourne specif i ca l l y: it isa st r a t egic shamdes i gn e dto cover up

?li sown deficiencies.saseecsceeae, ?lay'!!dby<\nd yJo nes 0::

ceccoree e inT..·· ··o·s fi~s :. aescceeeceeeee for :;:e~s

pz-cducci.cn,may in large part beba sedoncna e ecc ecs like COCCO' s Fat.he r Cian, al s oplaye d byAndyJon es.COCCO's

?r od uc:ion~inc ludesascene ent.ieled -Fa eh er Dian onSin,- in ·...hiGhFat.l:le rDian·...ar:l.s agroupof young

c~i ldrenof -The pain ofhe ll. . . .a bil li on. t::-i~l ion

ci mes hot:t.erehananyred hot.ec cve. » Het.ells t.hem:

everyday , eho usandsof lit:tle sou lsare sucke d ca:-eeni ng andswoo p ing intothegaping mout..!::lof

hel l.~bo ysand~girl s dragg@d ecroa s a

hideousbed ofbr oken gla ssont.o a moun d ofredhoc coals.~·shriekingfor t.heirmolTU'llies and dadd ies·...ho cannot. he art:hem .

?"at.herCinneventual l y ·...orks himsel!up ineosuc ha frenzy enaeallhis repressed urges from cne t.h irty- fiveyea rshe has beendeli v e ring t.hesame sermon cc chi l d r e ncannc cbe re pr essed anymore:

1' 111fr e aking cuc,bOysand gir l s. Ihave -!lippedmy lid.· 1'111goi ng ccgo nowandjumpover ene whar!. Sut.

be foreI do, I am go i ng cc dosomet.hing I have always want.ed to do.I am goingee showyou.boysand girls. my dic k. (se eee s 147-al

Li keFat.herDinn, sceeremaybesUffe~ingfrom a complex mixt.ure ofguil t. and de sireor maybe in t.h e :-eliqious

38

;Jro fess i o nbecauseit.of:e:-s a sor,: ofpreda~oryi:1dulg e n c e, bUI:~itae r'Aay . bochcnacacce rsdesir e co hid ecert a i n aspe c t s of th e mselvesbehi n d ashield ofreligi o sity.As

"...;-tie pr og r e s s es,·...e ctscc vertha t.Pastorsceeiehas rouc i n.e l yeeacen TrifHeforsuch thingsas che ....inga piece of gum.st oreneo herbyan Americanseevi.ceeaa. a si nhe deemed"ofort!ly of bro ken. ribsand copiousbr'..lises (lll.It is revealedthat.he hasbeen subscribi ng to child-pornography

for sometime (2 21. thathe faeheredanillegi cimaee child

(Bill yl (40).veehetrie s coattac k physic all y...henhe

discove rs char.Bil l yaas sle p t: withTritfie (431. and above all, that: he ~ha sbeenbuggerin ' the bejesus out of chat orpna.nag e they' ve go cinWhitbourne . He' 5 beenat th o s e childre n for ye a r s" (40). As ·...ell. th o ug h we arenever to l d for cert ain that:it ishewho ilaskilledand.lmlt:ilatedthe sheep. hedoe s rambl e obse s s ively about the bl oodof the lambandends a cl i macticsce neby bleatingincessantly (361.

The exeeae ot the pea ece- s earthlyweaknesses goe swe l l bey ondthe limitnece ssa ryto satiriz e amis sionarydrive. There is something elseat work he r e as well. which Guy po int s towhenthe Ranger inquires whyDr.Melro sedidnot report the pa s to r 's beat i ng of Tritt ieand when theRange r ind ic at es tha t the orphanag e mat r onhadknownof the pa s tor'5sexual abuseof the orphans ::or ye a r s.Guysuggests

39

ene e cnerehave been.inscituc.iona l....eakne s sesi:1 many of

~e·...founCla..nd·Ssoc:'al ec euccures..,hichhave made pe -Jple in.

cucpo rus re eaeeneeo report abu sesbypeople in their cOtmlUnie ies.The doc t o r implies it.isansurdeo thinkit:

...ould be a good ideato~inf o rmour sc -cat red 'Nel!a::e sys t e m"orto-cc ec ecc tbat farce of anorphanageae Sr. .John 'S," or eventolodgeacomplaint:wi ththe

~ger. He sugge s cs tha t:"insix mon ths,perhap saye a r's udme, SOtt'J!th i .o.g ~bedone.Mi g ht. Might."A.ndneask s cne Ranger:

Whatdoyouthinkwou ld cavehappened tothe poorgirl, meanwhilewhenthe . .ue man ofGedfoundQu t?Ifhe suspe c tedshe'dbabb l ed it:out.Brok enarms? ~s?xeext (l l)

The ree icenceeospeakUpon the pa r t of cbe mat::"on who ul timately"c ouldn ' t cak ei tany more," may be ene reeui eof simil ar re a soning.Alt:ho ugb.sheultimat elygoes eo the Rangersea ei oninWhiti)Ourneand·s p ill (s) he r gue s· (3 2).

she refrai ns fr om.doi ngso unt il ieis al readyappar e ne thae the pastor isintrouble. Like Dr.Melrose, shemayhave dounce dwhet.hez-anyehingcouldbe donebeforeebe pastor discov eredheba d been reportedandwen t be r se rk.Butthe matro n mayhavehad anotberrea s on for ke e p ing su ch cru c i al info rma tiontohe rse lf.Aswill be discussed furche ron,a general distrus t of oueside r shasdeveloge d inSwyers

Earbc urbec au seof cec eu er.es of car e te as or :tosc:': e e eeeceeacat the har.c!sof sc range r s.The mac::'on in Whitbouce'",i thho ldsc::uc i a l informa c ion about Pot ele even thoughreporting hisbehaviourto the police or 1:0socia l seevac e s maybe enebest oray of scoppingit:, p@rhaps hesic a cic.g eoLavtcemor e st:r angersva c se help, in hereye s, verylikely'",ill be as he l p fu l as t:ha t:prov idedbype c pje like Elast orPo cele .

Becausesvyees fiarbour 's res idents cannotor lIfill cc c depe!1don official pee e e ceave bodie s for eheir well · be ing, the y turn eo oche reecncds of procecting ea eese r ves \Io'bicll pro ve, des pi t e the small victoryat enepl ay ' Send, 1:0 be in s uf ficien c, as is indicatedby the re pe a t ed abuse and killingof thedefense lessTri t Ueandthekilling and mucilacionofcheshee p.oneat the lo cal tac t ics is~Unt::

:-tillie's ob s e s s i o n'",i ch gossip.She colleccs info rma c ion about the livesof her tellowres i de n c s with great fervour, andis nos yand unfair. We are toldenaeshelisc~!nsco och er people'S cooversacions 00 -the goodol d partyLj.ne, eh,AunCMillie?- (38 ).Dr.Melrose suggescs: "pic kanyone in Swyers Harbour... and good old Aunt Millie'lldo enejo b on eneer. good and proper.She lIfas juee born like ic" (31).

Oc c asiona lly, as Mill iegachers in fo rma cion at the POSt office sheruns, chroughsuch ecbicallydubious means as env e l opes chat~go~ripped in passage" (2 21. see comes

across int'or-...ar:ionloIb.iC~ccuz.d aid oe co=n.ity

i=

eade public.ae ediscoveryof t~epast or' s sub s c r ipc i o n::1 c!lildpornography , for instanc e, of ~er sa cl ue to his perversio ns: wThe sh oc k i n' thing s t.he y ' r e doininch e m pic cures.'iliU1t.he young gi :-15 . . .andthe young boys-

(2 2 1_Eer pos t.ot'~ic eisahubof infortllation :-Seesall,

he a rs al l, eerrs al l . .Tha t.POSt officeof hers is1:.k: thecent.reof asp i d e rvee- (13).

Inthe pe r ceived abse nce of any legalor admi.nistrat':'-,!!

proce ction,oneltli.gbc feel compelledtotu rn tolDOr edras;:':'c and pe!."haps le ss etbic almethods of sel f-de renee.;ihen Dr.etet ros e su g ges tsAunt Milliewas "bc z-nlikf! it., -aemay vac ncucre a lizing it. po i n e t.oahe r i t ag eof go s s ipas prot ectionin outportcc:maunities. Mari l ynseeeeeinher paper -0. Tana-Ty3unr;h- · thetlolisica1 Cul Ly ... gfOutagr · Wgmepin Newfoundla nd sugg escscnaewomencon tro lled most of the unofficia l eape cca of socialorganization , and enac -their corrmandover channe ls of info rmalinfo rmatio nisi:J.

itself a co nsiderableresourc e- (221.

AuneMi l lie's us eofinf orma eio n - g a t.h e ri ng asa self-defensetactic:isaccompaniedbyber person al res i l ien c e in the fa ce of those whowouldac t e mpt. toimpos e the ir wills on her.aceeeeYoun g suggescs that-explici t milit.aryandpo li tical eee rseaeee - isonly oneof many poss ibl eforms of resi s t an c e.Anoe her is the decis ion simpl y

eoceruse colon i :::a eionin vnaceveeformi.e isbe i ng ae.e.empe.ed (14 91. Aunt Millie noe.onlyref usescnepase o r ' s religiouster ::ori sm, but expl i c i t lydiscourage s him. Fi::s tly, she ·pu t the~on him· vnee -het::ie d ec prose lytizeout frontofthe POSt Of f ic e- (2).The:l sh e se.and s up to his damni c.g rhe to ric:

aa.Frighte:lmg" wou ldyou ?see blastedchance 00 yeu thinkthere'sno one knows.·0 0you thinkehere' s no oneknows what happe nedthe eimeCh a t poor lic t l e creat':.1re (Triff iel goe. he r ri b brok e.You thL"'1ks e.her~'s

everyoae a~her e is deaf anddumb, you c.:rl.clcs (2 51

Despite.\unc.Millie'spoe.entia l as a sore.ofguer=i l la figh t e r in defenseofthe people of SwyersHa r bou r, sheis limitedinseveralways,and is infact one of GUy'smore complica t edcn a e a cee e s.As is menti onedabove,she aetai ns he r informat i on by inva ding peop l e'S priva cy, anddesp i t e her oc c a s ional valuablediscoveries, she seemslDOs t lyee discover trivia such as the amount of Washbou.rne 'spensi on (21), or A.unt DuCky Piercy'srecentin t e r e s t in elle SalvationArmy(23). Also, the choicesshe makes regarding which information to spreadandwhichto keep private are croubling.During ene courseof her interviewwithcue Rang e r, for ins t anc e, she tells himallaboue.Washbourne's back.ground, Bi lly's childhood,DuCky' s subscriptionto~

~, and"'asr~ou~e'smonttll ycneeue ,but. ~1l.eo:uy potentially val uabl epa ee e of informa t.io nshe givesaim.

inve!vi ng the pastor'ssubscriptionto child poruography, she relates....ithhe si~ ation.Simil a rly, duri ng he r sub s e qu e n t hostileencounterwi thee eea e, she usesni s abuse ofTr i f f i e asa we aponin.their exchan ge, bu t it is clear she has never us ed thi s lc:loW'ledge ofongoing abus e ina'#lay thatmig h t ha ve helped TrifUe(25).

Millieseems generallyto use herposi t i o n as postmis t ress selfishly.Sheenjoys the powerof conscant eccesa to private IcncW'l ~ge, becauseof thefeelingof authority it of f e r s:

The reIstings apo s ~:'lli st re s slearns in her lineof duties.Tings sb.e gotto keepto her self.Likea doctor.Likea Ranger. (22)

Milliehas a diseorted vi e w ofher rel a t i on Shi p to thes e ot he r, pec c e c ca ve pr of essions. becausehers is not a prote ct i ve profe s s i on. and becaus eit is the ducy of a ranger or a doccorto use cheir information toche besc advancage of thecoamunit::iesthey serre. which she does nee do.At. best. shepro t ects onl y b.e r s elf, as ber exchangewith Pottle sugge sts.Sbe uses be rknOWledgeof his secre tsco int.i mi dat.e bimandkeepher s elfuntouchable . but. sheal s o ke epsthe secre t of ni s abusive behavi our,prot:ect:ingher enemyby re f using to shareenedefens i vewea pons she has acquired.

Millie'5eeeae ecc e eer~portabuses might:cc 4llext enc be baseden ccun es si mil a r ecDr.Mel r os e's reg a rd i n gtne abilitiesofof f i cia lpecceceave bodiescc ~eale!te c;:i°J'ely

·.,i t:hthe abuse, bu t Millie'5suspicio nofout sid eecaa e s may runde e pe r chantheeeeeee"s,andbemore akin eo the Whi t bourne macron ' sgenera lsu spi c i on of oucside rs.Mil!.ie is suspicious of Bi llyHead solely. icseems,becauseheis so sbyand re c lusive, so uDllel pfulinber obsessivequest:

for private knowledge, andis suspicious of Washbour:lebased on his similar pos i t i on as an~anchori t e. ~ This suspicion regardingmarginal ceececcers~hocumout tobe -t h e gocx:1 guys· echoescna ehe l d bynee arch-enemy Pet el e.

AuntMi l l ie ' s habitofprejudice- -foundedchoughitmay be on a hiscoryofabus e atth e handsofstr ange r s-- c ombin ed

~iehherwill ingne s s to sac rificethe well-being of eeaees in ordertoreeain ber privae e rhetoricalweapons, pc e ve nc a her from beingofassist an ce to be rcommuni ey, andkeepsher a me regossip -monger.

Millie'5 fe ar of theunknownismatchedbyloyalties whichare deeplyingrained in her andwhichoc c a s i o na lly se e mto fly dir e cely in theface of strong evidence . This is indicatedby he r relencless de f enses ofhersondespi tehis de spicableact ivi cy.Dr.Melrose repo rcs eo che Range r:

Brenda, the tair damsel Brenda , hadbe e n int erfe red with. Go odoldaricterm, tha t, ~interf eredwi eh."

·5

"ell . she"'as~'t. :."eally_Not:in the ':ec."mical~J!c..:.::3,1.

sen set.h.at:is.sue.byC-cd. eae poorgi:::'1die.ceve one hellof a black eyeandeeeeeveze some nascyfinse:

tnar!csaro und herthroat .Aunt. Ducky~i e :.":;,,/

[3renda' sTnOl:herl iso't.the firs-=.anxious maco cor-f i de tome the ir tears for theirvestal vi rgins. (:29) Ac customed to equa ti ng threatswith strang e r s, Aunt: Mil l ie hastroub l e de aling ·...ieh thefact that he rownson has bec omeame nace:

Oh, myGod. The though t sof i t.The chougbtsof it.Tne Range r outhoef tinit t.hrough therucxamore s aft.ar my Viney like, likehe ....asamad dog or someChing.There's no justice.There'sno jus ticeleft. in ch is ....orld veees cevee-. (3 71

Aunt MillieI5 lament may at firs t.seem unreaso nable gi ven theassa ult: he rson bascoamitted,butthe re is a.n eleme nt of erueb toit which is po inted out seve r al times . Itis str essed thatbef ore be wenttofight in World Wa r Two. vancent;Bi shOpwas,as Dr.Me lrose sugg est s, -ee e shyes t ki d ycutd eve rmet.^M(51 ,and as Aunt.Mi llie says: MS O

meek as alamb. Wou ldn'tsay boo toagoose~ (231. Ineec e, Aunt. Millie does notappe a r co suggest by her remark senae t.heRanger is beingunjus t..Shecons en t scha t t.he Ranger

isonlydoin' his jobbut ithardlyseemfair.

somehow.No , it doa' t .Because he suffe r ed arce. you