International Journal of Language & Literature

An Analysis of the Symbolic Meanings in “Nettles” Based on Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism
Liu Yunfei

Abstract
Alice Munro is a Canadian short-story writer who won Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013. In her conspicuous short stories, “Nettles” is really fascinating, for the interpretation of story resembles the interpretation of a puzzle. This complex story has been studied by many scholars and the explanation of the story, including the explanation of the symbols in it, seems to be various. This paper tries to interpret the symbols and the title of this story from a brand-new angle in which psychoanalytic literary criticism is involved. Based on the textual analysis of the story, the author concludes that the narrator‟s remembrance of her old memories is the impetus to the creation of the story and the title symbolizes the reunion and departure between Mike and the narrator, with joys and pains combined together.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v9n1a7