The Garrison Mentality in the Comics of Emily Carroll

Emily Carroll’s horror can be seen to draw upon a longstanding tradition in Canadian literature called “the garrison mentality” in order to create impossible situations of tension, anxiety, and of a dangerous world that really wants to kill you. 1/9

The garrison mentality was first identified in 1965 by Northrop Frye as the dominant theme of Canadian Literature. The idea is that Canadians live in a harsh environment that is, quite frankly, actively trying to kill them. Thus Frye describes Canada as being comprised of: 2/9

“Communities that provide all that their members have in the way of distinctively human values, and that are compelled to feel a great respect for the law and order that holds them together, yet confronted with a huge, unthinking, menacing, and formidable physical setting.” 3/9

And indeed, Canada has the 2nd coldest average temperature of any nation at -5.1 celsius and, despite being the 2nd largest country, 80% of Canada is uninhabited wilderness, which forms an unknowable entity hovering at the periphery of every community and dwelling. 4/9

In consequence of this, Canadian Literature has shown interest in themes of isolation, fortification, and community dependence in contrast to the more pastoral themes of other national literatures that might feature a more nurturing natural environment. 5/9

These themes, of course, intersect well with the horror genre at large, which routinely portrays tales of individuals trapped together in garrison against an external threat and psychologically unraveling to the point of turning on each other. 6/9

These themes manifest very directly in Emily Carroll horror stories such as “Our Neighbour’s House” or “His Face All Red,” which portray harsh wilderness environments as a source of danger, and evil, and the unknown – a sublime concept. 7/9

The garrison mentality may also manifest in Carroll’s more modern stories which can be seen to explore the GM in terms of patriarchal power within a marriage – with the woman’s dependence on a male partner leaving her garrisoned against a society that is hostile toward her. 8/9

Thus, Carroll’s works often build horror around the simple concept of a tense or nervous allyship against the outside world (literally or metaphorically). In this, she finds a thread that is downright primal – hardwired into evolution as the key to humanity’s endurance. 9/9

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