Alice Munro's novel was set in a context where the lives and roles of girls and women were undergoing significant and dramatic changes. Munroe's protagonist, Del, experienced the feministic revolution which resulted in the "equal" opportunities obtained by women today. This novel is seen to follow a unique Canadian girl through a journey from innocence to experience while using imagery and literal meanings to comment on the suppression endured by the central female characters in a patriarchal society.

The context of Alice Munro's novel is one of immense transformation in the expectation of women's behaviour in society. The second world war was over and during the war women had taken on roles and responsibilities that were never considered before possible. Munro's...