The Study Of Space Narrative In The Awakening

Kate Chopin is a legendary female writer in the history of American literature.Her masterpiece The Awakening gains her scornfulness as well as reputation.Suffering much controversy at the beginning of its publication,the novel does not rehabilitate until the rise of feminist movement in America.The nove l goes ahead of that time for depicting the heroine Edna as a female in unswerving pursuit for independence.Time and space are both basic dimensions for narrative though traditional literature studies tend to lay more stress on time than space.Since the end of the 20 th century,space studies have attracted extensive attention in academics of narrative with boom of spatial turn.With the research methods of space narrative,this thesis intends to explore the spatial elements in The Awakening,to study systematically on the spatial forms applied in the novel and the narrative progression influenced by space,and to develop a new perspective of interpretation for this novel.This thesis consists of six chapters.The first chapter is introduction which introd uces Kate Chopin and her masterpiece The Awakening;the second chapter is literature review,including studies on The Awakening and studies on space narrative theory.At first,it summarizes the studies of The Awakening at home and abroad.Then it introduces the origin and development of space narrative and highlights the pioneering contributions of Joseph Frank and the great French thinker Henry Lefebvre's space theory in his The Production of Space;chapter three analyzes the potential impacts that physical space has on the heroine Edna's awareness of awakening by specific study of regional space and habitable space;chapter four discusses how social space helps to enlighten Edna's awareness of awakening for her unique view of religion and art;chapter five analyzes the provocative function of psychological space to Edna's awareness of awakening by studying male and female's psychological space respectively.The last chapter makes a conclusion for space narrative in The Awakening.On the basis of predecessors' research achievements on space narrative,this thesis analyzes the notable features of space narrative in The Awakening from the perspective of physical,social and psychological space.It focuses on the interpretation of theme and value of the novel from the angle of space study,particularly the promotion effect that space has on the protagonist Edna's course of awakening.