The Analysis Of Narrative Techniques In Pamela

Samuel Richardson, who was one of the most famous British novelists of the 18th century, inherited and developed the merits of the epistolary novel before him, thus making the arts of the epistolary novel reach the top. Pamela, written by Richardson in epistolary style, tells a story of a maid who tries every means to defend her chastity. Since this novel was first published, many critics have made thorough researches on it. However, most of the critics mainly focus on the close reading of the text itself, so hitherto no critic has made detailed analysis and research on its narrative techniques.However, Richardson's remarkable achievement in Pamela lies in the unique narrative techniques. Starting from this point, with the employment of the theories of narratology, this thesis reinterprets Pamela in order to explore the actual functioning of the narrative techniques shown in Pamela as it contributes to interpret and understand the characters, plots and theme of the novel comprehensively. This thesis is divided into five parts:In the introduction part, I make a brief introduction of the author of the story, overall state of the researches on the novel, the development of epistolary novel in the West, and the rise and development of narratology.Chapter one focuses on the focalization in Pamela. This chapter first goes to the classification of focalization and its functions, and then expounds three kinds of focalization employed in Pamela. The employment of internal focalization makes us know much about the the protagonist's inner world and external world. The shifting between the narrating self and experiencing self reveals the protagonist's understanding of the degenerative society. The employment of multi-direction crossing focalization can help us have a deep understanding of the theme of the novel.The narrators in Pamela are discussed in chapter two. Firstly, the concept, classification and the basic functions of the narrator in narrative works are introduced. In the second section, through the analysis of the homodiegetic narrator of the novel, the features of overt narrator, typical identity of female gender and unreliable narrator, which are shown by Pamela in the course of narration, are revealed. Section three simply analyzes the heterodiegetic narrator of the novel, who appears in the novel as the supplementary narrator. The last section explores the narrative function and the commentary function of the homodiegetic narrator as well as the relationship between them. The narrator criticizes the degeneration of the social morals of the age and the supprssed state of the female through these two kinds of functions.Chapter three centers on the narrative structure in Pamela. This chapter analyzes the unique narrative structure in Pamela from two aspects. Firstly, the plot pattern in Pamela is explored. The dual narrative system of Pamela provides the novel with dual plot, and the employment of dual plot can enrich the narrative techniques of the novel. In addtion, the introduction to compound plot structure can make us see through the protagonists'inner world more clearly. Secondly, the forms and features of the beginning and end of Pamela are analyzed. The distinctive forms and features of the beginning and the end of the novel can not only make the narrative techniques of the novel more diversified, but also attract readers' attention to a great extent.At last, the conclusion summarizes the whole thesis, reaffirms the arguments, and emphasizes the major narrative techniques again.