The Fictive World Of Ash: A Receptive Reading Of Possession

As the Booker-prize winning novel of A. S. Byatt, Possession: A Romance has won a lot of attention and applause from readers. Most readers analyze this novel in the light of modernism, realism and feminism, while precious few people apply Aesthetics of Reception to interpret it. Therefore, study of it from reader's perspective can be a good way for the comprehension of this novel. With a love story of Victorian poets at the center, a detective story outside and mysterious fairytales as the background, Possession represents both attraction and challenge for the reader. Byatt uses special narrative strategy to construct the world of Victorian poets, endowing it infinite aesthetic beauty. The world of Ash (one of the Victorian poet), being the miniature of the past, and a hint for the modern world, is a mysterious and profound world to the reader. This thesis elaborates on the author's construction of Ash's world, analyzes reader's reconstruction of Ash's world and clearly states how the implied reader and the actual reader collaborate to actualize Ash's world. Adopting aesthetics of reception, this thesis carries out a research on the novel, unlocking the mystery for its instant worldwide popularity.This thesis consists of three chapters and an introduction at the beginning with a conclusion at the end. In the Introduction, the author and her works as well as the aesthetic reception theory are introduced. Chapter One firstly gives an account of the reception of Possession abroad and in China and actual readers'four concrete interpretation of this novel. Chapter Two analyzes the response-inviting structure in author's construction of Ash's world. At the invitation of the implied reader, the reader is expected to participate actively in interpreting the novel and actualizing the textual meaning by means of horizon of expectation, wandering viewpoint and synthesizing activity. Thus, Chapter Three probes into reader's framed reading process when he is reconstructing Ash's world. Finally, the thesis reaches its conclusion that Ash's world is constructed by the concerted effort of both the author and the reader. The world of Ash, being the most fictive and mysterious, arouses the reader's active participation and infinite imagination. Possession wins mass audience with her unique narrative strategy.