Book Review on Dance of Happy Shades

Dance of the Happy Shades

Wiser or Sadder?

Alice Munro has stated that her characters do not learn as much from happiness as they do from conflict or sorrow. After reading Dance of the Happy Shades, with her depressing narrations, it is difficult to agree that her characters became wiser by the end of the stories. The protagonists simply became self-aware of their insignificance and their inability to change their lives and those of others. This type of “knowledge” seems more like a resignation to each character’s circumstances rather than learning a life lesson they could use to improve themselves.

Through the combination of selfish people and teamwork, bad ideas can become socially acceptable and as a result reveal the futility of an individual’s resistance against what is wrong. The theme in “The Shining Houses” was a majority rule, which was fully illustrated to show that an individual’s objection was weakly expressed and expectedly ridiculed by the majority, leaving the protagonist powerless to change their minds. Munro effectively conveys this message to the readers through the use of irony in a subtle but criticizing manner. Sheltered behind the wall of community, the white house owners, without feeling guilt or remorse, schemed over the exile of their neighbour, who has inhabited the area long before the community’s existence. “The spirit of anger rose among them, bearing up their young voices…and they admire each other in this new behaviour as property-owners as people admire each other for being drunk.” Mary, the protagonist, was well aware of the appalling nature of this decision, but was powerless to make changes to it. By the end of the story, she learned that as a minority, “there is nothing you can do at present but put your hands in your pockets and keep a disaffected heart.”

In the story “Boys and Girls”, Munro focused on the topic of feminism. In a society where women were perceived inferior than men, the protagonist tried to become more...