A Feminist Narratological Study Of The Blind Assassin

As “The Queen of Canadian Literature”,Margaret Atwood has been a prolific writer of novels,poetry and literary criticism.Owing to her outstanding literary achievements,Margaret Atwood has gained many international prizes.In 2000,her tenth novel The Blind Assassin won The Man Booker Prize.The Blind Assassin is best acclaimed for its intricate narrative structure,which is made of three narrative levels: the eighty-two year old narrator Iris recalls for her and her family's past,combined with newspaper clippings and a novel entitled “The Blind Assassin” which is allegedly authored by Laura Chase but eventually turns out to be written by Iris.As the innermost narrative level,a science fiction about a blind assassin and a mute girl is related by the anonymous couple in the novel entitled of “The Blind Assassin”.The present thesis purports to makes a feminist narratological study of The Blind Assassin by focusing on the point of view and narrative voice.In so doing,it intends to argue that the two aspects are indispensable for Margaret Atwood to show women's oppressed situation,to subvert patriarchal authority and finally to build a feminist narrative authority.In addition to Introduction and Conclusion,this thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter one analyzes Iris' s voice and authorial voice to show author's exposure of oppression of women in a patriarchal society.Chapter two deals with the defiant or rebellious voice of the female lover and Laura in the novel.Chapter three interprets point of view in the novel to bespeak women's position and narrator's criticism toward the masculinist society.Through analyzing the narrative strategies in the novel,the conclusion will combine Margaret Atwood's narrative art with the analysis of her feminist theme in The Blind Assassin to show Margaret Atwood's feminist idea.