"Killing the Beast at Home: Destroying Maternal Bonds in Moira Crone's 'The Ice Garden'"

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to offer a symbolic interpretation of 'The Ice Garden' the story that opens up the short story cycle "What Gets Into Us" (2006) by Moira Crone. Firstly, the story is set in the theoretical framework of the short story cycle as devised by Forrest Ingram. Secondly, the text analyzes the role the narrator, Claire McKenzie, has, a woman victimized by the repressive attitude of her mother, a chaotic woman obsessed by the destructive power of physical beauty. Special attention will be paid to the use of mythological images and war metaphors throughout the story, as well as the shifting from an Oedipus complex to an Electra complex attitude as displayed by the young Claire which may enable us to understand why she failed to help her mother in the final tragic moments of her existence.