A Study Of The Spatial Narration In Ian Mcewan’s Saturday

Contemporary English novelist Ian McEwan’s Saturday(2005)narrates the experience of a neurosurgeon Henry Perowne within one day in London against the backdrop of 9/11.It centers on his family life and his conflict with the street rogue Baxter,explores the dilemma of modern people,and also intrigues the reflection on the relationship between literature and science.In this novel narration’s utilization and reliance on space are extremely high.Space is not merely the traditional concept of fictional setting,it not only provides background for the story to unfold,but also influences the nature of characters and pushes forward the progress of the plot.Therefore,only after having a comprehensive knowledge of the space design by McEwan can readers better understand this novel and his superb writing skills.This thesis explores the fundamental causes of conflicts in Henry’s daily life hidden under the superficial harmony,revealing that spatial narration is an important tool in artistic creation and literary criticism.In Saturday the spatial narration relies on three levels of space: on the physical level,space refers to the places where characters act,including Henry’s private home,the public street and his working hospital;on the social level,space refers to the different unities one belongs to,from the small family of Henry to the London city then to the whole global world;on the mental level,space refers to characters’ invisible inner world,and their own way of looking at things,such as Henry’s pragmatic viewpoint and others’ romantic viewpoint.The three levels of space in Saturday are not separate but closely interconnected,characters can be in the three levels of space at the same time.Physical space and social space somehow determine mental space,mental space in turn strengthens the influence of physical and social space,and they are working together to push forward the progress of story and make the content more substantial.Space,besides time,becomes another important tool of narration,and it makes a crucial contribution to the success of Saturday,which deserves more attention of researchers on Ian McEwan and his other works.