An Analysis Of The Sense Of Betrayal In Katherine Anne Porter’s Fictions

Katherine Anne Porter is one of the most outstanding female writers of modern Americanliterature. Her works are usually considered to be unique in style and profound in theme and they havenot only been highly recognized in America, but also won great reputation in the world. Studies ofPorter, in China and abroad, cover various aspects, including the narrative techniques, feministconsciousness, religion and religious prototypes, and so on. Porter is a writer who is particularly goodat depicting the inner conflict of the characters. The theme of betrayal appears in many of her works.It is the conflict of her characters as well as the authors’.Many characters in Porter’s works are those ordinary people living in the South of United Stateslike Porter’s family. With the coming of the20thcentury, the American society experienced manyfundamental changes which brought about changes to people’s lives. The old generations cling to theold conventions, believe in God and refuse to accept the changes. The new generations are more likelyto be influenced by the new values. They are inspired by political dreams of the time. They throwthemselves into revolutions, wars and end in disillusionment. These people are often caught betweenthe reality and fantasy, whether the old generation or the young, which leads to various types ofbetrayal. In this thesis, different types of betrayal in Katherine Anne Porter’s fictions are mainlydiscussed. They are betrayal of beliefs, betrayal of the Old Order, betrayal of personal feelings andself-betrayal. By employing some narrative theories of literary criticism and studying the socialbackground and the personal life of Porter, the author tries to explore the reasons for the sense ofbetrayal in Porter’s works and at the same time analyzes Porter’s narrative techniques which highlightthis sense of betrayal. It is much desired that this thesis could provide a new perspective for the studyof Katherine Anne Porter.