The Moral Interrogation Behind The Narrative

This paper intends to find the presence of"implied author"by analyzing the narrative means and voices in Wharton's three major masterpieces, The House of Mirth, The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome. The technique of narrative which can produce the rhythmic effects on the narrative, such as"episode","irony","focalization", will be analyzed in detail with the retracing of"implied author". The transformation of narrative voices, especially the character-narrator reveals the intrusion of the author.Besides, the discussion center on the moral instructions conveyed by Wharton's"implied author","reliable narrator"and"control of reader's sympathy and aesthetic distance". The author's idealized sense of morality is illuminated with the discussion about moralized endings.This thesis is tentative to analyze Wharton's works from the fresh angle of narratology. The"implied author"reveals the moralized world of Wharton. The moral instruction therefore offers the basis for understanding and judgment. However, the intrusion of the author does not interrupt the objectivity of narrative completely. Concerning Wharton's narrative, there is more space for more interpretation and studies.