Analysis Of The Ethical Conflicts In The Return Of The Native From The Perspective Of Narrative Focalization

This thesis studies the ethical conflicts in The Return of the Native,one of the former novels of Thomas Hardy.Based on the close reading of text,this thesis aims at making a qualitative analysis on the plot in this novel so as to find the reasons for those conflicts.This thesis is based on the narrative focalization theory in narratology,especially the three perspectives: zero focalization,internal focalization,and external focalization.It analyzes the causes of the ethical conflicts among human characters and the ethical conflicts between human beings and natural environment and reveals Hardy's thoughts about those ethical conflicts.The family ethical conflicts and ecological ethical conflicts in the novel are mainly presented by the zero focalization of the narrator,the internal focalization of the characters and the shifts of focalization of different characters.The family ethical conflicts are explored by the focalization of marital relation and inter-generation relation among characters.The ecological ethical conflicts are explored with the analysis of the relation between character's attitude toward Edgon Heath and character's final fate.It can be concluded that the use of focalization theory not only shows the change of characters' mind and the change of their behaviors,but also presents Hardy's thought about family ethical conflicts and ecological ethical conflicts.Through the thorough study of the ethical conflicts in the novel,this thesis expects to further enrich and deepen the understanding of the novel from a new perspective and provides evidence for people to use narrative theory to study this novel.