An Analysis Of The Narrative Rhythm Of The Mill On The Floss

The novels of George Eliot mark a new beginning in the development of British criticalrealism. She is the forerunner of psychological novels, whose brilliant novel The Mill on theFloss has received great attention and enjoyed continuous popularity among scholars andcritics home and abroad. The novel is universally regarded as an autobiographical work. Itmakes an exquisite description of the characters’ psychology and readers are amazed at thevarying narrative rhythm in the novel. Some scholars have concerned about the narrative artof The Mill on the Floss, but as for the narrative rhythm, people seldom touch upon. Thisessay makes a research of the narrative rhythm of this novel from the perspective of time andspace. The rhythmic beauty comes from a proper corporation of time and space, and producesa compound rhythm of time-and-space.The First Chapter analyzes the alternation of dynamic and static rhythm in time. It makesa research of The Mill on the Floss with the theory of difficult rhythm proposed by E. M.Forster and the relative duration theory of Genette. The first part of this chapter analyzes thenarrative theory. The second part analyzes the dynamic rhythm in time. The narrative speed isaccelerated by the application of ellipsis and summary. The dynamic rhythm produces anoutright and full reading experience for the readers. As for the presentation of theme,Maggie’s loneliness is clearly presented with a fast narrative rhythm. The last part discussesthe static rhythm in time. It is presented through the stretch and pause. Every moment ofMaggie’s loneliness is depicted with great details, the slower rhythm gives readers’ fullexperience of the theme.Chapter Two makes a research of the saltatory rhythm in space. It applies the easyrhythm of E. M. Forster. Easy rhythm refers to “repetition plus variation”. In the novel, therecurrence of certain images and plots help a lot in deepening the themes. The most importantimage is “water”, which appears in each vital moment of the hero. Besides, there are manyplots expressing similar themes, such as the theme of Maggie’s loneliness appears repeatedlyand produces a rhythmic effect. The last part combines the polyphonic theory of Bakhtin, with the theory of difficult rhythm, enriching the structure of the novel and presents themes withvarying forms.The last chapter deals with the uniqueness of the compound rhythm in time and spaceand the aesthetic effect of this special rhythm. The unique compound rhythm represents theinnovative thinking of the author on narrative skills. In addition, the unique compound rhythmbrings readers into a broader horizon in appreciating the art of novel.Through the above analysis, the essay makes a conclusion that George Eliot is no wonderthe forerunner of British modern novels mainly because of her innovative writing skills, Sheshows her superb talent in depicting characters. She is a great master of the art of novel.