Perplexed Fine Spirits--Multiple Narrative Perspectives In The Wings Of The Dove

The works of Henry James were for a long time neglected or mistreated for the so-called lengthy sentence structure and ambiguous psychological descriptions. Recently, however, literary critics as well as common readers have begun to take an interest in his theory and works, and have tried to discover his value in many aspects. Among all these his theory on point of view is the key to decoding most of his novels. On the basis of Jamess theory about restricted narrative and shifting point of view, this dissertation intends to do some research on the multiple narrative perspectives employed in The Wings of the Dove, and attempts to analyze the effects achieved by this technique, so as to provide a more constructive method of understanding this tremendous work as well as this prolific writer. The paper consists of three parts. The first part mainly talks about Jamess revolution in point of view. He modifies the Victorian omniscient narrator and introduces the third-person center-of-conscious- ness. The second part dwells on multiple voices presented in The Wings of the Dove. Each of the characters acts in turn as narrator through a series of reflections on a given circumstance. The third part deals with the literary effects achieved by this technique, both in theme and in form.