Individuation and Religious Mythology in the Novels of W.O. Mitchell

This article attempts to rectify the current critical neglect of W.O. Mitchell by acknowledging the complexity of his work – in particular, through a focus on repressed sexuality and homoeroticism. Mitchell’s writing is briefly related to the tradition of modern realism with respect to the complex balance it achieves between objective and subjective perspectives, which allows archetypal themes to emerge in the context of more specific social analysis that is especially evident in three novels: Who Has Seen the Wind, How I Spent My Summer Holidays, and Roses Are Difficult Here. The article offers the binary of Apollonian and Dionysian as a helpful interpretive and explanatory tool in a reading of the ideological tension between Christian and pagan religious mythologies through which Mitchell configures his exploration of the individuation process. In light of their own humane depictions, the novels ultimately challenge a conservatively “masculine” emphasis on a narrowly defined social role that relegates unconventional subjectivity to the arena of narcissistic failure.