The Self-Growth Of The Nameless Narrator In Rebecca From The Perspective Of Spatial Criticism

Daphne du Maurier was a famous British female writer in the 20th century.Her masterpiece Rebecca is suffused with suspense and mystery.It created quite a sensation among the readers and became a bestseller in Britain when it was first published.However,it has attracted relatively little attention from the academic world.In the existing academic studies of the novel,scholars have done character analysis,and studied its Gothic style and feminist theme.Most of the studies about its characters and feminist theme have revolved around its title character Rebecca,whereas the other important female character,the nameless narrator,is generally neglected.In recent years,with the "spatial turn" that occurred in the mid 20th century,spatial criticism theory has attracted more and more attention.Nevertheless,there has been little research of Rebecca from the perspective of spatial criticism.In her research,the present author notices that space and changes related to space are a prominent element of the novel and they play a key role in the development of the story and characters,thus worthy of further research.Therefore,this thesis,based on theories of spatial criticism,is to focus on the different kinds of space and the spatial practice of the nameless narrator to reveal the process of her self-growth from oppression,to confusion and to maturation through her spatial practice in psychological space.The thesis consists of five chapters.The first chapter briefly introduces Daphne du Murier and her Rebecca,makes a survey of previous studies on the novel both at home and abroad,and explains the focus and structure of the thesis.Chapters Two to Four constitute the body of the thesis.Chapter Two discusses the oppression suffered by the nameless narrator from the perspective of space.The place where the story is set is a spatial representation of the oppressive power on the nameless narrator.After she enters Manderley,she feels restless with a sense of displacement.In order to rid herself of the shackles imposed on her by Manderley,she begins her attempts of spatial practice in social space.She tries to define her relationship with the servants and assume the dominant role in social activities.Unfortunately,her efforts are to little avail.Chapter Three is to analyze the nameless narrator's anxiety and fear caused by her attempts of spatial practice in social space.Chapter Four studies the nameless narrator's spatial practice in psychological space.After she fails in her spatial practice in social space,the nameless narrator stops comparing herself with the late mistress of the Manderley Rebecca,and turning inwardly she begins her conscious autosuggestion of her self value and introspection on her social roles.Through her spatial practice in psychological space,she obtains confidence,independence and freedom and achieves self-growth.The chapter aims to reveal the important message of the novel about female initiation—construction of a strong psychological space is an essential factor that leads to a woman's self-growth.Chapter Five is Conclusion,which summarizes the previous discussions and restates the viewpoints of the thesis.The thesis studies the initiation theme from the perspective of spatial criticism,and foregrounds the importance of constructing a strong psychological space to women's self-growth,hoping to render a new research angle for the study of initiation novels and application of spatial criticism.