Lives of Girls and Women

In “Princess Ida,” Del’s narration concentrates on Ada, advancing The Relationship Between Mothers and Daughters by developing Del’s understanding of her mother and herself. In earlier stories, Ada appears in the background of Del’s experiences with some commentary on Ada’s viewpoint, but in this story, the narrative broadens its focus from Del’s internal experience of the world around her to her examination of the external world of her mother. The narrative’s tone thus shifts from inquisitive to a candid retelling of her mother’s experience as a young girl and adult. While Del does express curiosity about Ada’s experiences, the overall story focuses more on characterizing Ada and exposing more of her history. For example, Del indicates that on Wednesdays, Ada and Fern Dogherty “would be at home, drinking tea, smoking, talking” (79), creating an image that is mundane and domestic but also indicative of the lifestyle Ada desires. By engaging with such ordinary, everyday behaviors, Munro employs realism to create relatable characters. The story’s focus on Ada functions to provide context on Del’s upbringing and why Ada makes certain choices, such as moving away from her husband to Jubilee and engaging in academic pursuits.

Part of Del’s view of Ada, in this story, initially relies on Aunt Elspeth and Grace’s commentary on women’s roles in society. They believe Ada’s decision to travel for her job takes away from her duties in the household, such as ironing, which illustrates stereotypical gender norms of the time that suggested that a woman’s sole responsibility was to maintain her household. The depictions of Del’s aunts further the idea that women must maintain appearances as well: “They wore dark cotton dresses with fresh, perfectly starched and ironed, white lawn collars, china flower brooches” (73). The aunts’ appearance differs drastically from the world Del explores down the Flats Road and represents the aunts’ willingness to conform to a stereotypical yet socially acceptable version of womanhood. Not only do they engage with conformity and complacency with ease, but they even desire this as well, contrasting with both Ada’s view of the world and Del’s developing identity. These conflicting viewpoints stem in part from class disparities, highlighting The Impact of Social Class and Poverty: Aunt Elspeth and Grace easily align with stereotypical ideas of womanhood because they can afford to do so. This story begins to outline why Ada does not adhere to such social expectations due to her past experiences of abuse and poverty and her present situation of living in poverty as well.

Del’s upbringing has various, external influences outside of her family that broaden her perspective on the larger world. Munro’s exploration of the social attitudes and beliefs of the time, as well as references to the Second World War, places this book within a specific period. For example, Del claims, “The war was still on then. Farmers were making money at last […] They had their minds set on refrigerators, cars. But these things were not to be had […]” (73). Due to Del’s ability to move throughout time as she reflects on her childhood, Munro grounds the text in a specific time and place with statements like “The war was still on then” (73). This not only provides context to Del’s age— that of a young girl on the verge of adolescence—but it also provides context on the state of Canada at the time. This adds clarity to the text, as Del implies that although the economy is in a state of abundance for people like farmers helping the war effort, there is still a war happening, creating a lack of movement toward bettering one’s day-to-day life through a refrigerator or car. Del’s development into adulthood is directly impacted by the state of the world around her, which has been put on pause as the entire country helps with the war effort.