On The Feminist Narrative Techniques In Cranford

Mrs. Gaskell is a great Victorian novelist in British literature. Her novella Cranford was serialized in Household Words—a periodical which was edited by Charles Dickens from 1851 to 1853. Published in 1853, the novella was based on Mrs. Gaskell's early years'experiences in a small English town of Knutsford. In the novella, Mrs. Gaskell vividly depicts the quiet and peaceful idyllic life and customs of Cranford with humor and satire in Dickens's style. Since its publication, Cranford has attracted numerous readers and many literary critics have discussed the novel from different perspectives, such as the the language style, Unitarianism and the psychoanalysis. This thesis analyzes the feminist narrative techniques of Mrs. Gaskell's Cranford from the aspect of feminist narratology. It discusses the writer's feminist narrative techniques and the relations between gendered narration, culture and hierarchy. It points out that Cranford is very valuable for us to study the feminist ideology in the 1800's. Through its wonderful feminist narrative techniques Gaskell fully presents the female mind, female languages and the weakness and the strength of women to readers. It is quite helpful for us to know about women and understand women, which may in turn promote the equality and the harmonious relationship between men and women.The thesis consists of an introduction, the main body and a conclusion. The Introduction offers the general biographical information about Mrs. Gaskell, her Cranford in the history of British literature, the current research on it. The main body of the thesis is composed of three chapters. Chapter One is devoted to the basic theory of feminist narratology. It discusses feminist narratology, feminist narrative voice and feminist narrative discourse. Chapter Two elaborates on the feminist narrative voice and feminist narrative discourse in Cranford. Mrs. Gaskell perfectly combines the theme of the novel and the feminist narrative techniques through its feminist narrative voice and the distinct feminist features in the narrative discourse of the novel. Chapter Three deals with the relations between gendered narration, culture and hierarchy. Through the detailed depiction of a group of old single women, Mrs. Gaskell reveals the females'distinctive concepts of culture and hierarchy in the background of feminist movement.The Conclusion summarizes the whole thesis, pointing out that Cranford, with its significant realistic sense and feminist narrative techniques, will continue to attract more readers around the world. The whole novel describes the understanding of women towards the world and the decisive feminist ideology runs through the novel.