Novel Second-person Narrative And Its Philosophical Connotation

The narrative person is one of the most important concepts of the western novel narrative theory. According to the spatial relationship between the narrator and elements of the story world, theorists generally divide the concept of narrative person into two types: the first person's narration and the third person's narration. Besides, they deny the independent existence and special esthetic value of the second person's narration. Such theory not only exposes the malpractice of ossifies and abstract in method caused by the research model of structuralism, but also can't reveal the humanities significance hiding behind the concept of narrative person. This thesis attempts to escape from the pattern of structuralism method and finds the essential philosophical significance of the three narrative person, complying with the recent tendency and tidal current of the model transforms in narratology. Then, this thesis focuses on the excavation and explanation of the implication of inter-subjectivity embodied by the second person's narration, discussing the relationship between the rising of the second person's narration and the contemporary direction changing from subjectivity to inter-subjectivity in philosophy. Consequently, the research of this thesis has enriched the one of inter-subjectivity in literature in the contemporary academic circle.The first chapter of the thesis points out the contradiction and error of the traditional "standpoint theory". The "standpoint theory" defines the "narrative person" as a narrative tone based on the narrator's own standpoint when he or she observes and narrates a story. Accordingly, the theory divides the narrative person into two types: the first person's narration and the second person's narration, regards the second person's narration as the latter's distorted form and denies its independence. Actually, such point of view has mistaken the "narrative person" with the "narrative angle of view" and defined the "narrative person" with the "narrative angle of view". In fact, though there are close relations between the two concepts, they are not absolutely equal. First of all, the story narrated by the same narrative person form can be narrated from different angles of view. Besides, things observed form the same angle can also be represented by different person forms. The contradiction and error of the narrative person research is rooted in the structuralism research method long used by the narratological circle.The second chapter of the thesis attempts to jump out of the structuralism research model, excavates the philosophical implication of the three types of narrative persons and emphasizes on the analyzes of the philosophical significance of inter-subjectivity embodied by the second person's narration while comparing. The essential difference between "narrative person" and "narrative angle of view" lies in that what the former reflects is the philosophical attitudes and thought favors when the narrator faces with the elements in the story world. The third person's narration more embodies the objectivity in the philosophical dual opposition model between subject and object, while the first person's narration more embodies the subjectivity in the model. The second person's narration transcends the dual opposition and more embodies the philosophical inter-subjectivity. While the narrator totally puts his or her sight to the outside world or completely takes the outside world into his or her own vision in the third person's narration or the first person's narration, the narrator of the pure second person's narration, in which the second person is used to represent the leading character with the second person, often makes a connection between ego and the outside world, as well as subject and object. The narrator constructs a "you-J" dialogue field different from the "I-It" opposition relationship. Thus the exchange, dialogue and co-existence between narrative subject and character subject, as well as narrative subject and receiving subject have been realized. In addition, the non-pure second person's narrations existing here and there in the third and first person's narration, such as "you" used for self referring by the leading character in mental activity, "you" existing as letter receiver in the epistolary style novel, and "you" referring to the narrative receiver on the text layer, also contain rich connotation of inter-subjectivity.The second chapter makes efforts to excavate the connotation of inter-subjectivity of the second person's narration while comparing the different philosophical connotations of the three narrative persons in the synchronic and static aspect. The third chapter attempts to explore the relationship between the rising and development of the second person's narration and the contemporary philosophical directional changing from subjectivity to inter-subjectivity in the diachronic and dynamic aspect, considering the academic background of this changing. The philosophical directional changing of epistemology occurring in the modern times rescued human beings from the shackles of theology. However, with the development of subjectivism and the ever-expanding self, the change has inevitably led to the approaching of a "subjectivity in the evening" both in the academic and real aspects. The philosophy has begun to change from subjectivity to inter-subjectivity and the second person's narration in novel is just the reflection of this new philosophical change in the literary field. To some extent, there are just some counterparts virtually between the different types of the second person's narration and the notable stages of the development of inter-subjectivity philosophy. For instance, there is close relationship between the self-referring "you" in the psychological description and the another subject created by Husserl's intentional construction, the "you" referring to the narrative receiver on the text layer and the another subject created by the Heidegger's operating co-existing association, as well as the "you" both referring to the letter receiver of the epistolary style novel and the leading character in the pure second person's narration and the one in Buber's relationship philosophy. With such conclusion, the discussion of the second person's narration in this thesis has also enriched the research of literary inter-subjectivity by today's academic circle.