Rationalism and Superstition in Monkey Beach Anonymous College

In Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach, supernatural plot elements entwine with Lisa’s development through adolescence. Under the neo-colonial Western view of the supernatural, these explanations would hardly seem satisfying to the hard line empirical stance adopted with regard to the physical world. In the novel, these supernatural elements are treated by many characters as possibly imagined or part of Lisa’s broader mental health issues; all aspects of Hailze culture is an inescapable part of Lisa’s upbringing in post-colonial Canada and as a result most likely did negatively affect her mental health. Despite this, much of the plot suggests that Lisa Marie is truly experiencing some supernatural phenomenon, and that her turbulent mental state is responsible for some of the ensuing instability in her spiritual experiences. For its part, the text is especially susceptible to analysis under the theories of colonialism and trauma theory.

The supernatural is framed in the larger context of the spiritual beliefs of the Haisla people. Robinson cleverly uses Lisa’s family members to construct a binary opposition of different attitudes toward Haisla culture and the supernatural elements which it contains. For instance, her parents clearly...