Margaret Laurence:

To Set Our House in Order

from
A Bird in the House (1970)
Oral Presentation by Lina Herber,
Álvaro Garrote and Cornelia Schad

Literatura Canadiense en Lengua Inglesa

Profesora Ana Maria Fraile Marcos
29.10.2008
 Outline

1. Biography of the author Margaret Laurence

2. Main features of a Short Story
3. Analysis of To Set Our House in Order
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
 MARGARET LAURENCE
FIRST LADY OF CANADIAN LITERATURE
 BIOGRAPHY
(July 18, 1926-January 5, 1987)
• Grown up in Neepawa
• Her parents died when she was a child
• Bachelor of arts degree at United College
• 1947, married Jack Laurence
• 1949-1957, she left Canada and lived in England, Somalia
and Ghana.
• In 1952 and 1954 had her children.
• 1957, moved to Vancouver.
• 1962, she moved with her children to Penn (England)
• 1969, got divorced
• 1974,went back to Canada-Lakefield, Ontario

1. Biography of the author Margaret Laurence page 2 of 15

 WORKS
THE MANAWAKA CYCLE
1964- The Stone Angel –Hagar Shipley
1966-A Jest of God – Rachel Cameron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Hamiltonst.jpg

1969- The Fire-Dwellers - Stacey MacAindra

1970- A Bird in the House – Vanessa MacLeod
1974- The Diviners – Morag Gunn

COMMON FEATURES:
• Set in Manawaka (Neepawa)
• Feminism - Main characters are women- four different
generations.
• God’s presence

1. Biography of the author Margaret Laurence page 3 of 15

 SHORT STORY

• The story has not many places of action

• The action has already begun when the story starts

• Normally the ending is not closed

• All types of narrators

2. Main features of a Short Story page 4 of 15

 3. Analysis of To Set Our House in Order

a) Relation to other stories in the collection A Bird in

the House
b) Summary
c) Characterization of the main characters
d) Typical and special aspects of a short story in To Set
Our House in Order
e) Relation to the title
f) Autobiographical aspects

3. Analysis of To Set Our House in Order page 5 of 15

 A BIRD IN THE HOUSE
1970

• Collection of interrelated short stories

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.u
k/images/c2/c12611.jpg

• Autobiographic

• Main character and narrator - Vanessa MacLeod

• The story opens on Remembrance Day

• To set our house in order

a) Relation to other stories in the collection A Bird in the House page 6 of 15

 Vanessa
• The narrator of the story
• 10 years old
• Has no close relationship to her grandmother
• Likes her aunt Edna (p. 429)
• Is unable to comprehend certain things according to
her young age (p.431)
• Is about to discover how reality looks like in her family
• Does not know if she feels happy or sad about her
new brother (p.432)
• Questions the rules and orders of her grandmother
(p. 435)

c) Characterization of the main characters page 7 of 15

 Mom Beth
• Has already lost a child before
• Can`t assert herself towards grandmother MacLeod
 is in an inferior position to her

Dad Ewen
• Doctor in Manawaka
• Highly influenced by his mother
• He feels guilty that his brother has died – bad conscience
• He is afraid of disappointing his mother
• He still wants to treat her like a lady

c) Characterization of the main characters page 8 of 15

 Grandmother MacLeod
• She thinks of herself as a lady (p.432)
• Likes and lives the British lifestyle
• Wealth and prestige matter to her the most
• Vanessa claims that grandmother MacLeod “does not
believe in the existence of fear“ (p.426)
• She has a lack of sense of reality
• Is not aware of the change that has taken place in the
last couple of years – sticks to the “old times“
• Contradictory character (p. 428)
• Her rules and orders on Vanessa are based on the Bible
(p. 427)
c) Characterization of the main characters page 9 of 15
 Aunt Edna
• Makes fun of the “Royal Highness“(p.429)
• Reveals certain parts of the truth to Vanessa
• Helps Vanessa to bare her anxieties
• Down-to-earth
• Friendly character - the reader sympathizes
with her

c) Characterization of the main characters page 10 of 15

 Typical and special aspects of a short story in
To Set Our House in Order
• Single main character:
Vanessa
• Predominant element:
Vanessa‘s feelings during the days when her little brother is born
• Narrator:
Vanessa (first person)
• Initial incident:
the moment when her mother has to be brought to the hospital
• Primary action takes place in Grandmother MacLeod‘s house (p.
426 / 427)
• Time period: 2 nights and 2 days

d) Typcial and special aspects of a short story in To Set Our House in Order page 11
 Relation to the title
• Quotation from the Bible
• P. 428 Grandmother: he wants each one of us
to set our house in order
• P. 429: (she had) never lived in a messy house
• P. 435 Vanessa: I felt that whatever God might
love in this world, it was certainly not order

e) Relation to the title page 12 of 15

 Autobiographical aspects
• The Vanessa MacLeod stories of the collection
A Bird in the House are known for the highly
autobiographical content
• Removal to grandparent’s house
• Aunt Edna is similar to Laurence‘s aunt who
encouraged and guided her in writing
The Margaret Laurence House
(house of her grandfather John
Simpson)

http://www.margaretlaurence.n
f) Autobiographical aspects et/about.html page 13 of 15
 4. Conclusion
• Is there a morale of the short story?
• What is Laurence‘s purpose in writing the
Vanessa MacLeod‘s stories?
• Can you identify with Vanessa?
• Do you think religion plays an important role
in the short story? – Do you think Laurence
wants to criticize the church?
• How do the accidents influence Vanessa‘s
thoughts?

4. Conclusion page 14 of 15
 5. Bibliography
• To Set Our House in Order from A Bird in the House (1970)
• Short Story analysis:
http://www.newi.ac.uk/englishresources/workunits/ks3/genr
e/shortstory.html (22.10.08 19:51)
• http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?
PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0004552
• http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/unitarians/laurence.ht
ml
• http://www.bookrags.com/biography/margaret-laurence/
• http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/l/margaret-laurence/bird-
in-house.htm

5. Bibliography page 15 of 15
Thank you for paying attention! 