On The Application Of Metafictional Narrative Strategies In The Waterfall

Margaret Drabble is one of the most influential writers of modern Britain. She is considered by critics as "the modern Jane Austen" "the contemporary Mrs. Gaskell". So far, she has published seventeen novels, two biographies. She is renowned in the British literary world. Margaret Drabble is famous for realist novels. However, her fifth work The Waterfall is a different kind of work. It is usually considered as Margaret Drabble’s most experimental novel. Through a close reading, the author finds that the work contains some metafictional elements, which make the work quite different from the previous works.The main part of this thesis is divided into four chapters.The introduction part is consists of the introduction of Margaret Drabble’s life and her major works, a brief introduction of the novel The Waterfall, including the main characters, plot, narrative strategies, as well as the purpose and significance of the thesis and a detail literature review.The main content of the first chapter revolves around the narrative skills of metafiction novel. Metafiction is also called self-consciousness novel or self-reflexive novel. It is one of the main forms of postmodern fiction. Metafiction is the reflection, deconstruction and subversion of the narrative itself. According to Patricia Waugh’s Metafiction Theory, the thesis mainly analysis the metafictional elements in this work. The characteristics of reflexivity, intertextuality and uncertainty are the main points of this thesis. The first part of the first chapter is the concept of metafiction, including the representing characters, main points. The second part focuses on introducing the features and main narrative strategies of metafiction, namely the reflexivity, intertextuality and uncertainty of metafiction.Chapter two analyzes the reflexive characteristic of the novel. Metafiction is also called the reflexivity novel. In The Waterfall, the first-person narrator, Jane Grey, is not only the narrator but also the heroine of the novel. She often interrupts the narrative to remind the reader that she is telling a story. The self-reflexivity of the work is mainly represented by self-reflexive narration of Jane. Through these, the author finds that Margaret Drabble is deliberately trying to expose her creative process, which reflects the fictionality of the novel and the innovation of Margaret Drabble’s writing technique.The third chapter focuses on the intertextuality in The Waterfall. There is no doubt that no work can avoid the relation, absorption and transformation with other works. This thesis analyzes the intertextuality relation among The Waterfall and The Mill on the Floss, Jane Eyre. Through the rewrite of these works, the thesis aims at subverting the traditional concept.Chapter four discusses the indeterminacy of the language, plot and themes in The Waterfall. The first part focused on the skills of language. Margaret Drabble uses the multiple meaning words and puns to illustrate the significance of indeterminacy and the opacity of languages. The second and third part respectively discusses the uncertainty of themes and the open ending. The theme of The Waterfall can be discussed from two angles: The exploration of female identity and the pursuit of freedom and independence. Therefore, it presents the indeterminacy.Chapter five is the summary of the thesis. Margaret Drabble has always claimed to be follower of realist novel. However, the metafictional elements in The Waterfall shows that in the period which known as the "literature exhaustion", Margaret Drabble also constantly thinks about the relationship between reality and fictionality. The author also hopes that the thesis can make the readers have a deeper understanding of Margaret Drabble and her works.