A Narrative Study Of The Moonstone

British writer Wilkie Collins was known as the “Father of British detective novels”. His another contribution is to highlight the concept of “literature is a study of humans”. In The Moonstone, the interconnected suspense and the shaping of characters all show Collins’ excellent literary skills. The Nobel Prize winner T. S Eliot praised the novel as “The first of the longest and best modern British detective novel. All good and moving things of modern detective stories can be found in The Moonstone”. [2] Under Dickens’ influence, Collins developed a talent for characterization, humor, and popular success. This novel deeply rooted in the British Colonial period that vividly depicted a picture of squire and colonial people’s life, which profoundly revealed the British anxieties and ambivalence in the internalization of imperialism and reflected the dilemma faced by the traditional oriental culture.The researches of Collins are relatively wide which reveal the inner links with religious, cultural and historical in Collins’ works, and seriously probe into his creative skills and social value of the novels abroad. Although domestic scholars are interest in Collins and his works, the systematically research is comparatively inadequate. The main body of the thesis consists of four chapters, and the second and the third chapter are the important parts, which aim to study the narrative art of The Moonstone. In the course of research, this thesis focuses on the combination of qualitative research and quantitative research, and tries to avoid biased interpretation of The Moonstone.The introduction briefly introduces Wilkie Collins and The Moonstone. The author sorts out the study of the narrative types on the basis of the current investigation of Collins’ detective novels.The first chapter emphatically introduces the theory of narratology and the representative Gerald Genette with his work Narrative Discourse. Based on the classical narrative theory, this thesis systematically studies the narrative point of view, narrative time, structural narrative, thematic narrative and suspense as well as other characteristics of The Moonstone.The second chapter is divided into three sections that respectively interpret the narrative strategies in The Moonstone from the aspects of voice, mood and time span by Gerald Genette’s narrative theory. The novel adopted the ever-changing point of view to make the fascinating suspense in the narrative process. According to the limited field of each character, four different categories of narrators play irreplaceable roles in narrative communication. Based on the internal focalization, the multiple narrative modes fully present grand scenes and deliver the vivid character of the narrative. The alternating of the fixed, multiple, and variable internal focalizations create the suspense setting and intuitive description of the cruelty and hypocrisy, integrity and loyalty of the characters in real life. Through the arrangement of summary, ellipsis, pause and scene description of the narrative time, the novel achieves constantly changing narrative rhythm which leads readers to appreciate the enchantment of suspense in the detective novel.The third chapter has two sections. The author discusses the relationship of the theme and structure with the text through the analysis of the unique narrative of The Moonstone and Collins’ ingenuity explanation to the suspense. The unique ring structure is a magnificent point of the novel, which objectively reflects the cruelty of imperialism. The modern medical interpretation is the highlight of the suspense setting, which satirizes the racism in capitalist society. The author realizes that the Moonstone is a touchstone for human nature. Collins gives the gem the unique symbolic meaning. The gem verifies the spirit of faith of Indian adherents in the process of case searching. Each structure is closely related to the theme serving solely Collins’ intention.The fourth chapter has two sections which attentively demonstrate the significance of the narratology in The Moonstone.The conclusion carefully summarizes the flexible perspectives, ingenious narrative rhythm and imaginative narrative structure by Collins. Collins’ unique narrative style is worthy of comment and appreciation.