A Narratological Interpretation Of The Characterization And The Plot Mode In The Mill On The Floss

George Eliot is an outstanding Victorian novelist in the nineteenth century of English literature. She is distinguished for her own female concerns in that society from different perspectives, her exquisite techniques of writing and the abstract philosophical views in her works. In her early works, published in 1860, The Mill on the Floss is considered as the typical novel that contains the apparent semi– autobiographical elements in all her works. The plot of the novel centers on the life crisis of the Tullivers and the heroine Maggie's misfortunes in the process of quest for her own desire. As a kindhearted and innocent girl, meanwhile, she is characterized by her stubbornness and self– reliance. In her short life, both the quest for love and self– identity end up as a failure. Finally, death is the very ending of her miserable life.The researches on The Mill on the Floss focus on: 1. the interpretation on the theme of this novel.The research object from this perspective is the author's concern with ethics, religion, society and politics; 2. the analysis of the feminism factors in this novel. The research scope from this angle is the psychoanalysis, the archetypal interpretation or the narrative approach which is based on the feminism; 3. the ingenious commentary in this novel. As a representative novel in the Victorian period, the organic integration of the characters and the plot is undoubtedly the indispensible element in this novel. This thesis intends to discuss the function of the characters and plot in the construction of the text by analyzing the characterization and the plot mode in The Mill on the Floss from the perspective of narratology.The traditional theory of characters from the perspective of narratology and the famous narratologist Greimas'theory of Actantial Model will be applied to analyze the characterization and the plot mode of this novel.This thesis includes five parts:Part one is a general introduction to George Eliot's life and her achievements. This part also contains the purpose, the object, and the methodology of this thesis. Part two is the literary review of the research on George Eliot, on the novel The Mill on the Floss, and on narratology.Part three is the theory on which this thesis is based——the theory of functional characters and Greimas'Actantial Model.Part four is the main body of the thesis. The typical factors of the binary opposition in the construction of the characters will be analyzed by adopting the traditional theory of functional characters. Greimas'theory of Actantial Model will be applied to interpret the relationship among the characters by analyzing the three groups of opposition in the development of plot. Finally, the plot mode of this novel will be discussed on the basis of the analysis above.Part five is a brief conclusion. The characters serve the plot. The plot mode which is based on the framework of the characterization is of great significance to the construction of the text.