Empathetic Narrative In Ian McEwan's The Children Act

As one of the most influential writers in contemporary British literary arena,Ian McEwan?1948-?,with his delicate and insightful narration,sharp and concise style,and humorous but detached tone,delineates contemporary people's inner anxiety and spiritual plights.His novels explore the essence of human nature and the comfort of soul in the light and shadow of desire,belief,emotion and reality.The Children Act,another contribution by McEwan in the 21^st century,explores the emotional conflicts and belief choices of contemporary individuals in the restless world.From the perspective of the female judge who is suffering from a marriage crisis,the novel records the great impacts brought by the cases she deals with,especially the Adam's case.Based on the empathy theory,and outlined by Fiona's empathetic experiences,this thesis explores the dilemma that modern people encounter in social emotional network and tries to seek a solution out of that.The thesis consists of three parts.The introduction reviews the present research on Ian McEwan's works,with a particular focus on the novel The Children Act and relevant research perspectives.In addition,based on the notion of empathy,developed by the German philosopher Theodor Lipps and Martin L.Hoffman,this thesis introduces Mark H.Davis'empathy structural framework as the theoretical basis for the in-depth textual analysis.The main body analyzes Fiona's empathetic status from three levels,including the empathetic exhaustion,empathetic awakening and the reconstruction of empathy capability in her life,in order to highlight the significance of empathetic awareness in an individual's construction of emotion.The third part is the conclusion.In Chapter One,Judge Fiona's marital crisis is analyzed to explore the root of the family alienation.The long-existing empathetic exhaustion in Fiona's life leads to her failure to care for the others'emotional needs.Such a plight is closely related to Fiona's social status,family and work conflicts,psychological crisis in the middle-age and her personality traits.Chapter Two focuses on Fiona's daily work and her interpersonal network.The emotional stimuli from her contacts with the litigants who hold diverse backgrounds,different experiences and complex identities,either in a passive or positive way,result in an effective empathetic awakening on her.In particular,the story of Adam,an eighteen-year-old boy,deepens her understanding of the importance of emotional bonds.As the empathetic effect produced by poetry and music brings out an emotional and spiritual resonance on Fiona,her empathetic awareness has reached a new height.Chapter Three discusses the psychological and cognitive impact of empathy reconstruction on Fiona.Firstly,Adam's suicide makes her realize that adults should bear the inescapable responsibility for the welfare of children.Secondly,every tragedy caused by a trial makes Fiona re-consider the boundaries between indifference and warmth in the field of law.Last but not least,Adam's departure and Jack's comfort enhances her understanding of the importance of empathy.This thesis focuses on Fiona's empathetic narrative in the novel,taking micro-emotion as its main line,bringing the loose and disorderly details together,and finally forming a complete emotional world.Through a detailed textual analysis,the thesis tries to stress that as individuals in the society,we attract,help,and rely on each other through empathy.When the messages of goodwill,love and warmth penetrate each other through the indifferent armor and arrive at each other's soul,it would be possible for us to find peace and light in the gap between secular shackles and desires.