A Study Of Space Narration In Ian McEwan's Novels

This dissertation explores the motif connotation and value judgement represented in space in the literary narration of Ian McEwan,one of the well-known contemporary English writers.From the perspective of spatial narrative,this dissertation reveals McEwan's systematic and philosophical probe into the issues of literary innovation,cultural phenomenon,social responsibilities,historical truth,the role of fiction,etc.Spatial narrative carries the profound ideological connotation in McEwan's fiction,not only in terms of his cultural imagination of space experience,but also in his literary creation of spatial forms in fiction.Therefore,this dissertation tries to have a spatial interpretation of McEwan's fiction from three levels—spatial narrative dimension,spatial narrative construction and spatial narrative connotation.It is argued that McEwan constructs a multidimensional fiction world where space is treated as adynamic with its own narrative content,narrative strategies and narrative consciousness.The first part of this dissertation analyses what spaces McEwan creates in his fiction,which could be mainly interpreted in the dimensions of geography,psychology and power.Being more than a setting of the story,geographic space in McEwan's fiction is where he exposes and explores the historic landscape in modern metropolis,crisis of human nature and spiritual loss caused by postmodern civilization and heterogeneous culture.Urban waste land,exotic labyrinth and London landscape pave new ground for city writing.The change of geographic space marks the change of the writer's emotional structure as well as his writing style.Psychological space is mainly reflected in people's cognition and perception of life.Both memory space and imaginary space are effective means for people to perceive the outer world as well as inner self,revealing McEwan's concern for the relationship between individuals and society,self and other.Obviously,McEwan pays much attention to the power in the space in his fiction,which could not only be found in public space,but also in private space.The discipline of power and the discourse of power contribute to the physical and spiritual control of the subject.Being more than a geographic construction,the spaces represented in McEwan's fiction are the representative of mental states as well as social space where kinds of power and culture fight with each other.The second part examines how McEwan constructs spaces in his fiction,which refers to the unique narrative strategies applied by the writer when he deals with the relationship between time and space,the spatial forms and space shift.The narrative strategies of highlighting space by weakening time and spatial time through slowed scenes epitomize the prominent feature of Chronotope in McEwan's fiction.In terms of spatial form,McEwan has moved towards the overall social picture in his later fiction from the personal portrait in the early writing.Besides,McEwan draws an inner analogy between the movement,overlap and change of space and the growing and development of individuals.This dissertation argues that the unique charm of McEwan's spatial narrative strategies lies in its treatment of people's existence experience,beneath which underlies people's space experience.McEwan consciously uses spatial narrative strategies to have fiction narration,which generally revealed by story,makes sense of theme,thus making the space of his fiction a mixture of the writer's personal experience,aesthetic experience and his deep concern for history and society.In order to manifest the complicated factors involved in the process of narration,the third part focuses on McEwan's consciousness and unconsciousness,his moral judgement and even his desire to utter,to communicate with others,which could be perceived by readers from his special narrative.McEwan's narrative space is a dynamic,open creature with derived meaning which resonates and intersects with other literary texts,history records,cultural and psychological contexts through its vertical narrative axis.The literary level of the vertical narrative axis in McEwan's fiction manifests his critical inheritance to literary tradition and cultural influence by the ingenious parody of literary genres as well as the artful quotation and adaption of other texts.The historical level both deconstructs and reconstructs history through the new historism approach to the textuality of history and the historicity of texts.The psychic level depicts the image of McEwan in a philosophical sense,who introspects the relationship between the self and the other by demonstrating the complex and labile relationship between the writer and texts,the writer and the reader,the reader and texts,texts and language,self and language,etc.Spatial narrative reveals a feasible path for the fiture study of Ian McEwan's fiction,making the narrative space transcend its traditional notion-a mere setting or container of the story.As one of the most crucial techniques to participate in and affect the characterization,plot development and thematic meaning of the fiction,spatial narrative renders McEwan's fiction world complex with its own metaphorical meanings,deriving from its exploration of the social,historical,cultural and ethical imports of narrative texts.Starting from the specific types of spaces of his fiction,this dissertation explores MeEwan's abstract spatial narrative strategies with an insight into his emotional appeal and philosophic ideology to discuss the social space both within and outside the text,revealing the richness in social themes of his spatial narrative which is both subtle and complicated.