A Spatial Narrative Study Of Milan Kundera's Jokes

Milan Kundera's works not only have strong philosophical color in content,but also have made bold innovations in form.His narrative works break through the traditional way of narration and form their own unique narrative art.Jokes is Kundera's first novel and a preliminary attempt of Kundera's unique narrative techniques.In his novel,he breaks the linear narrative mode and uses the spatial method to construct the plot of the novel.This work also embodies the author's thinking about the predicament of human existence and the fate of Czechoslovakia.The study of spatial narrative in Jokes is divided into four parts.The first part is the introduction,which introduces Milan Kundera's creation,the research status of his works at home and abroad,and the space theory of Frank and Lefebvre.In the second part,by analyzing the three typical physical spaces of the novel: barbed wire,square and walk,the author reveals their narrative functions on the theme of the novel and the characterization of the characters.The third part analyses the relationship between husband and wife,friend and lover in the novel from the perspective of psychological space.Milan Kundera constructs Ludwig,Kautska,Elena and Yaroslav's psychological space by means of inner monologue in Jokes.The fourth part combines the theory of spatial form and Milan Kundera's theoretical works to analyze the spatial form of Jokes.The novel is not only unique in physical and psychological space,but also spatial in structure.Kundera uses the narrative techniques of emotional space juxtaposition and space transformation to construct the spatial form of the novel.In summary,from the perspective of spatial narrative,this paper studies Jokes and explores Kundera's unique narrative skills in the construction of the novel's spatial structure.The juxtaposition of emotional space and spatial transformation connect the physical space of the story with the psychological space of the characters,and make the structure of the novelshow the characteristics of spatialization.Through the analysis,we can see that Kundera uses spatial skills to promote the development of the plot,shape the characters and express the theme.The physical space in walking and the transformation of psychological and historical space promote the development of novel stories,and thus constitute the plot of the novel.In the novel,the square,the barbed wire and the psychological space of the characters echo each other,showing Ludwig's uncertainty and confusion about his life choice.Kundera uses the method of inner monologue to construct the psychological space of Ludwig,Yaroslav,Elena and Kautska.The exquisite writing shows the existential dilemma of strangeness and alienation between people.Kundera also integrated his concern for the fate of Czech Republic into the shaping of Jaroslav,showing the current social problems in Czech Republic and the hope of pressing for social change.