Northrop Frye : Eastern and Western perspectives

In this volume drawn from papers given at an international symposium on Northrop Frye in Hoh-Hot, Inner Mongolia, editors Jean O'Grady and Wang Ning aim to create more than a summary of the proceedings.

The text seeks to present a "double mirror" wherein "the west and its critical theory are reflected in China, and China reflects back to the west the use it has made of it".The first section - "Frye as Theorist" - offers insights into his theoretical approaches and the context provided by cross-cultural questions.

The second section applies his theory to Canadian literature and includes a memorable reading of Margaret Atwood's "Cat's Eye" by James Steele.

Finally, in "Frye and China", Chinese scholars study the reception of archetypal criticism in China, and apply his critical method to their own literature.

This volume is designed to ask far-reaching questions about the universality of Frye's theory.

It ends with a bibliography of 35 modern Chinese works on Frye and archetypal theory.