A Study Of The Omniscient Narrator In Adam Bede

George Eliot is a renowned giant star shining in the Victorian period of the literaryworld. Being nurtured by the literary trend of realism in this period, George Eliot hasbecome the defender of realism. She thought the primary duty of the writer was to showthe common things and ordinary persons, to strengthen their value, so that the innersympathy could be stirred in people’s heart for things and persons they have gotaccustomed to. As early as she served as the editor of the Westminster Review, sheexpounded her creative concept of realism. The concept began to be carried outthroughout her novel writing, especially her early novels. In her first novel Adam Bedewhich established her literary status in the Victorian period, its realism features wereundisputed. Its realism features can not only be embodied in the material selected, butalso be highlighted as the author chose the fictional device of omniscient narrator whowas greatly helpful to create an illusion of reality as its narrative mode. Selecting AdamBede as the research object, with the help of the literary text, the thesis attempts toelaborate the functions and crucial importance of the omniscient narrator in assistingGeorge Eliot with creating such an illusion of reality in this novel. The paper covers fiveparts.Chapter One is the introduction part which offers a brief review of the criticalstudies on Adam Bede and makes an illustration of the research significance andpurposes of this thesis. Chapter Two，on one hand, studies the social and intellectualbasis which influences the formation of the creative concept of realism of George Eliot;On the other hand, it analyzes the types and the functions of narrator and points out theprivileges of the omniscient narrator in Adam Bede who helps George Eliot to make hercreative concept of realism embodied in her novel. Chapter Three discusses theomniscient narrator as a painter who can get rid of the control of spaces, time andperspectives to vividly represent the whole world the narrator tries to construct to locatehis characters and events in a specific society. The world involves from the physicalsettings－both natural and man-made settings, and the psychological ones permeatingbetween which include the value trend and the moral atmosphere of those givencommunities where the characters make their living and actions happen. Both thephysical settings and the psychological ones permeating work together to contribute to atrue representation of the appearance and the customs which existed in the early18th and19thcentury of the rural life in the central England. Chapter Four concentrates onexploring the role of the omniscient narrator as a guide who can link the bridge of thefictional world and the real world. His explanatory commentary and evaluativecommentary are greatly helpful for the reader to better understand the characters and theplot of the novel and further push the reader to get nearer to the deep meaning of thenovel. His discourse authority and encyclopedic knowledge as a wise man reveal thehuman nature in a deep and comprehensive way, which give the reader a profoundrevelation. Chapter Five is the conclusion, which finally comes to the conclusion thatthe omniscient narrator’s functions in helping the author to achieve her creative conceptof realism in this novel is of crucial importance.