| Joyce Carol Oates is a famous contemporary American novelist and poet.Her works cover a wide range of genres.Influenced by the development of the feminist movement in the 1970 s and 1980 s,Oates created a large number of feminist works and spoke for women.Little Bird of Heaven,a work of her mature period,focuses on women?s fate and reflects women?s resistance to the patriarchal society.This thesis takes Little Bird of Heaven as the text,starting from the perspective of feminist narratology,exploring its narrative features and the positive effects of the three narrative voices on author?s construction of female authority.The introduction part mainly introduces the life of Joyce Carol Oates and the main content of Little Bird of Heaven,as well as the literature review and thesis statement.This paper is composed of four chapters: Chapter One introduces the origin of feminist narratology and the three narrative voices proposed by Susan Lanser.These three narrative voices establish female authority in Little Bird of Heaven in different ways.Chapter Two analyzes how the author constructs female authority from the perspective of personal narrative voice.The heroine Krista?s personal narrative voice can be divided into two stages.In her early years,Krista is subjected to violence from her father,lover and the patriarchal society.The personal narrative voice helps readers understand Krista?s inner world and triggers readers? sympathy for Krista?s tragic childhood.In her adulthood,Krista gets a good job.The change of her identity makes her voice confidently,against male authority,and finally get rid of the shackles of the patriarchal society and start her new life.Oates allows Krista to tell her own stories,gives the heroine the right to speak,and initially constructs female authority.Chapter Three analyzes the manifestation of the singular voice and simultaneous voice in Little Bird of Heaven.Oates constructs female groups through these two modes to speak for the women.Women?s communal narrative voice usually faces threats and obstacles from men.The author uses the power of female groups and religious authority to protect female voices from male interference.On the basis of personal narrative voice,communal narrative voice unites women and further develops female authority.Chapter Four analyzes how the author constructs female authority from the perspective of authorial voice.On the one hand,Oates uses the hero Aaron?s perspective to express Aaron?s dependence and disrespect for women,causing readers to be dissatisfied with the patriarchal society.On the other hand,Oates inserts Zoe?s voice in the novel,and regards Zoe as her spokesperson.This practice expresses the female ideas of Oates,and also avoids the risks of direct evaluation of the patriarchal society.The conclusion part narrates the practical significance of Oates?s narrative strategy and feminist narratology.The author of Little Bird of Heaven,Oates,has ample personal experience and the pursuit of female discourse power.Oates shows three different narrative voices in this novel to counter male authority and build female authority.The three narrative voices have their own characteristics and make up for their defects.In short,Little Bird of Heaven reflects Oates?s emphasis on female authority and her strategy of constructing female authority with narrative voice. |
