Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1993. [Vol. 1.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 21)

STUDIES - Judit Kádár: Hugh MacLennan's Complex Narrative Technique in His Last Novel

on life, history and human nature. The same approach appears in his essays that stand for similar political and philosophical ideas (e.g. A Disquisition on Elmer, Scotchman's Return, Scotland's Fate: Canada's Lesson or TwoSolitudes: Thirty-three Years Later). MacLennan is concidered to be an writer of realistic style whose main concern is the Canadian national identity and its existence. His concious efforts to create something distinctively Canadian in his writings and to call the attention of Canadians to a national self-awareness as well as to call for other peoples' attention and interest lead to an ofter didactic tone which seemed to control his style. However, he alters his voice and subject matter as well. He shows the example of former times and draws the picture of a far too bad future as a warning for the present. This quest for being accepted as a cosmopolitan writer comes together with a peculiar sense of regionalism. He relates his topics to the spheres of individuals, couples, smaller communities; to nations; and finally draws the conclusion on a global level, (here: 'the World State') too, as a part of his morale, which is so much tied up with his purposes of artistic writing. I would like to focus on the complexity of his philosophical and artistic concept. History, Time, Narration and Style In Voices in Time MacLennan created a narrative framework on the basis of a relative time-system to provide a ground for expressing his own concept of human history in a way that seems natural and sufficient for the purpose of being able to shift the personal patterns narrated by the characters. This happens in three basic time-periods: in 2039. after a social explosion; between the two world wars and especially during World War II.; and during the 1970s October Crisis in Montreal, the city which was close to terror and in a state of total social chaos at that time. Time in the novel has a distinctively important role. Within the structure of the subjective time approaches the author's aim is to underline and express objectively the idea which is described in the life and figure of the characters, namely: people of our ages have lost their way in existence as opposed to the previous generations. 63