Allusions To Other Great Works
Of
course, a novel such as this will have plenty of allusions and references to
other novels, poems etc. Here are some of the more blatant and obvious ones with
my own personal interepretations of their meanings:
The
Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne-
The most obvious of all the
allusions. The red dress, the illegitimate child by way of a priest. The
allusion is carried out through the entire book. The only difference between the
two is that the priest does not die in Owen Meany. Pastor Merrill lives and
actually benefits from his transgression. Arthur Dimmesdale, however, suffers
for his crime and eventually dies from it. Irving even went so far as to
incorporate the name Hester into his story. There is even some connection,
seemingly, between the two Hesters. Hester Eastman represents sort of what the
people of Salem in The Scarlett Letter must have thought Hester Prynne was like.
The Bible-
Of course, there is a lot of the Bible in Owen
Meany, it's a substantial portion of what the story is built upon. Many of the
names in the book are Biblical. John, Noah, Simon etc. have religious
significance.
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy-
Johnny mentions this book by Thomas Hardy a number of times when he is
teaching his Grade 12 girls at Bishop Strachen. The significance of this is a
little vague. It more or less represents Johnny's trouble as a student and as a
reminder of how much Owen's help meant to Johnny in school.
A
Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens-
A very nice young lady noticed that
I had apparently missed probably the most obvious of all allusions, that being
the allusion to Charles Dickens' novel A Christmas Carol. I guess my only excuse
would be that it was so obvious, I just didn't see it. Anyway, The most obvious
inferences concerning A Christmas Carol is the Gravesend Players production of a
play version in the winter of 1953, the year that Owen played the Ghost of
Christmas Yet To Come. I guess a deeper reference could be made concerning Owen
and Scrooge. Both of them are told about their futures, but Scrooge makes an
effort to change his future, Owen does not.
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