Margaret Laurence has shown immense concern and has been very particular for the choice and depiction of locale in her fictional works in the context of Canadian Literature. She quotes Mordecai Richler’s saying of Montreal, “This was my time and place and I have set myself to get it exactly right” (Interview OISE); and it is apparently observed in her works that her place is the small archetypal Canadian prairie town of her time, Manawaka, that has been created on the model of Neepawa, Manitoba where she was born and brought up. Manawaka is a fictional town that is used as a setting for her Canadian based fiction which is sometimes restrictive but at the same time acts as a dynamic force. Neepawa was settled in the late 19th century by the people of Scots - Presbyterian background from Ontario. Wemyss, Laurence’s paternal grandfather incorporated the town on November 3, 1883; her maternal grandfather, Simpson was among the earliest settlers. …show more content…
The common Manawakan heritage acts as a connecting link between the novels as well as the characters. Though Hagar, Rachel, Stacey and Morag are different in various aspects of life yet being the product of same locale they exhibit many similar characteristics. It has been observed as a formative influence on the lives of all the characters. Initially, they find Manawaka as a confinement and Manawakan values as emotional repression but during the course of life they realise the Manawaka within themselves and learn that the resolution to their problems lies in dealing with it instead of moving away from it. Later, they acknowledge it as a positive and strength giving force that enables them to gain insight to understand various aspects of life and to live it while dealing with the problems. In other words, it becomes a way of responding to