Alienated Self: A Study of Margaret Laurence’s A Jest of God

Margaret Laurence dramatizes the plight of women, marginalized in a male oriented, chauvinistic society in A Jest of God. This paper attempts at focusing on the inner lives of the protagonist, Rachel Cameron. Rachel leads a life of terrifying alienation because she is not able to meet the demands of the society in which she dwells, as well as the demands of her psyche. She practically makes a search for the meaning of her existence, so that she would be in a position to respond comprehensively to life. She feels alienated from her voice which often acts independently and seems to be beyond her control. She is horrified not because she understands the unreality, but because she fears public exposure of her inner self. Her concluding monologue states that she learns to survive, to love and to be loved.