Narrative perspective and voice is a major aspect of a novella as Jeremy Hawthorn suggests in Studying the Novel, “[s]ource and medium affect the selection, the authority and the attitude towards what is recounted of the narrative” The narrative perspective can be used to shape or in some cases mis-shape the story. Looking at both Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and George Eliot’s Middlemarch, the narrators of these novellas hold a quality of influence over the reader. Through comparing and contrasting how the two different authors have used the narrative perspective to develop their novels, through voice, linguistic register, free indirect discourse and narrative distance in respect to the intimacy of the information shared with the reader.
Looking at both Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and George Eliot’s Middlemarch, the point of view otherwise known as perspective and voice, do contrast one another. Perspective and voice are defined by Hawthorn, as the views of the characters and events in the novella are relatable by human experience, which in turn makes the novella more realistic . Pride and Prejudice can be seen in this light as the narrator explains events as the plot unfolds. In this line of thinking the voice can be interrupted as third person semi-omniscient, but the perspective is mainly Elizabeth Bennett. The use of a semi-omniscient voice works well as information is not so readily disclosed to the reader. Within Middlemarch the voice would be third-person omniscient as the narrator knows all and discloses this information, but the perspective would predominantly be Dorothea, Lydgate and the narrative. Through the narrative, the reader discovers information before the other characters within the novella. As Ha...
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...res that make these books continue to live on for centuries. Due to the constraints of the essay not all aspects of the narrative perspective could be discussed and the role they play with the novellas.
Works Cited
• Austen, J. Pride and Prejudice (Ware: Wordsworth Classics, 1993)
• Eagleton, T The English Novel (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005)
• Eliot, G Middlemarch (Ware: Wardworth Classics, 1994)
• Hawthorn, J, Studying the Novel (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010)
• Morris, P Realism (Oxon: Routledge, 2003)
• Newton, K.M. ‘Narration in Middlemarch Revisited’ in George Eliot Review, 42 (2011), p. 19-25,6 [accessed 1 April 2014]
• Southam, B. C, ‘Jane Austen’, in The English Novel, ed. by A. E. Dyson (London: Oxford university Press, 1974)
Stillinger, Jack, Deidre Lynch, Stephen Greenblatt, and M H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Volume D. New York, N.Y: W.W. Norton & Co, 2006. Print.
Southam, B.C., (ed.), Jane Austen: The Critical Heritage. Landon, NY: Routledge & Kegan Paul - Barres & Nobel Inc., 1968.
Jane Austen's characters are extraordinary. Vividly painted, complete with personal eccentricities and short-comings, they make the reader laugh over the foibles of humanity. One of Austen's most memorable characters is Mrs. Elton, who could be considered the antagonist of Emma. The reader's very first introduction to this character invokes a strong feeling of dislike mingled with amusement. This strong reader reaction is the result of a carefully structured build-up to Mrs. Elton's introduction. Austen shapes this reader reaction first though the subjective opinions of others, specifically, the praises of Mr. Elton and the criticisms of Emma. Then, after building this foundation, Austen introduces the reader to Mrs. Elton through an objectively recorded conversation that cements the reader's opinion that Mrs. Elton is a snobbish, self-centred woman.
New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1979. Le Faye, Deirdre, ed. Jane Austen's letters, 3rd. ed. Oxford University Press, 1995.
Southam, Brian. "Jane Austen." British Writers. Vol. IV. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribners, 1981.
Austen, Jane. Emma. Norton Critical 3rd edition, ed. Donald Gray New York and London: Norton, 2001.
The novel is a humorous fantasy, written in the tradition of a boy’s adventure story. It recreates the child’s vision of the world. It entertains the adult by reminding him of his own childhood feelings and by showing him his own adult world from the viewpoint of a child. From this childish viewpoint, the adult world appears rather foolish. The few examples of narrative criticism of social institutions education and the church are not made in a serious way. There is a distinct pattern of loss and gain throughout the novel. Tom’s fortunes swing between the two and his moods follows suit. There are two distinct types of language, the narrative voice and the
Eliot, George. “Middlemarch.” Bibliomania: Free Online Literature and Study Guides. Bibliomania. 12 May 2009 .
Jane Austen’s career followed novelists such as Ann Radcliffe and Laurence Sterne, at a time when the Gothic and Romance novels were very popular. However, Jane Austen did not look favorably upon these styles, believing them to be harmful to both literature and the reader. In writing her own novels, Austen parodied these genres, but not merely for a humorous effect. She had specific messages that she wanted to get through to her audience, through this method. She wanted to impress upon her reader the value of that which is ordinary, but real, the importance of thinking for oneself, and to make logical judgments of characters.
Jennings, Charles. A Brief Guide to Jane Austen: The Life and times of the World's Favourite Author. London: Robinson, 2012. Print.
Literary Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The novel Pride and Prejudice, is a romantic comedy, by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is a story about an unlikely pair who go through many obstacles before finally coming together. Pride is the opinion of oneself, and prejudice is how one person feels others perceive them. The novel, Pride and Prejudice, uses plot, the characters of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and the status of women and social standing, to portray the theme of the novel - pride and prejudice.
Work Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Ed. Donald Gray. Norton Critical Editions. 3rd ed. New York: Norton, 2002.
...Emma’s voice in order to relate the inside ideology, while simultaneously using a somewhat ironic third-person narrative voice in order to provide critical social commentary on the social attitudes of the Highbury society depicted in Emma. Emma’s voice allows the reader to gain an unadultered insight into the lives of the people of Highbury, providing the narrative with a Austen uses a somewhat similar dichotomous technique in Persuasion, in which she splits the novel into two halves -- one in which advocates for the traditional system of formality, and another that works to eradicate the very same system that she extolled so highly in the first half. Under the deceptive guise of “political inaction,” Austen actually provides commentary on the underlying social and political issues that pervade the novel through the literary technique of heteroglossia (Parker 359).
Many people read Jane Austen’s fiction novels and only see her writing as cliché and old fashioned. But her stories have a classic, undying theme to them. Stories that are still relatable to readers today. In the last 10 years Austen’s books have been made into a number of television adaptations. Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Mansfield Park. Not only do we see Austen’s story lines through her books and the movies, but many modern authors and movie directors use Austen as an inspiration when writing their books and movie scripts. Austen’s stories capture the heart of many people, but she also captures the heart of women today. Women who strive to abolish the social discrimination against themselves. It is a debatable
Fergus, Jan. “Biography.” The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen. Ed. Janet Todd.