The Road To Self-Redemption: Narrative Ethics In Enduring Love

Ian McEwan is one of the most influential novelists in contemporary British literary world.He is known for his unique subject matter and rich artistic techniques and has won numerous awards.Study on his works has gained rich achievements both at home and abroad,but there is not 'much study from the ethical perspective.This paper takes his Enduring Love as a research subject and analyzes its ethical connotation by employing the theory of narrative ethics,in hope of opening up a wider vision for McEwan's criticism.Study of narrative ethics is the dynamic combination of narrative techniques and ethical intention.It discusses the personal fates in complicated circumstances and focuses on individual ethical appeals.Under the observation of this theory,this paper upholds that at story level Enduring Love embodies family ethics,individual narrative ethics and ethical egoism and altruism.These phenomena reveal characters' ethical predicaments and ethical appeals,especially Joe's.At narrating level,McEwan adopts narrative techniques like narrator's intervention,internal focalization narrative point of view and non-linear narrative time,to convey Joe's ethical appeal.At reading level,readers' confusion on plots,moral edification and obscure moral judgment help readers reflect themselves morally from others' life experiences.This study finds that Joe seeks self-redemption through the narrative;meanwhile it shows McEwan's concern about humanity and individual spiritual world,which helps to solve personal moral problem in the current society.