A Text World Approach To The Double Narrative Progressions In The Cut-glass Bowl

Francis Scott Fitzgerald(1896-1940)is a classic writer in the history of American literature and has plentiful works.Major attention has been paid to his full-length novels,with little attention directed to his short stories.The CutGlass Bowl is one of his short story classics.It develops around three life episodes of the heroine Evylyn and reveals the mortality of superficial beauty.However,there exists a covert undercurrent behind the overt plot,unfolding around the tragic experiences of Evylyn.It presents an opposite developing direction with the overt plot,and advances with the latter as double narrative progressions throughout the texts,inviting readers to carry out double cognitive representations.With the combination of covert progression theory and text world theory,this study explains cognitive representations of the double narrative progressions as well as their interaction in The Cut-Glass Bowl,so as to uncover the cognitive stylistic features and provide cognitive motivation for the double narrative progressions in this short fiction.With the frame of three world layers in text world theory,initial exploration is made in cognitive representation of overt narrative progression in event structure,characterization and narrative communication: the chaotic narrative episodes in text-worlds represent the mortality of superficial beauty;the empathizing barriers in sub-worlds contribute to the frivolous image of heroine Evylyn;the abnormal attitude of the narrator in discourse-world entails readers’ recognition on narrative authority;they jointly represent the overt narrative progression unfolding around the sarcasm on the protagonist’s absurd life.This paper then explores the cognitive representation of the covert narrative progression in the previous three aspects: as a covert world-builder in text-world,the bowl displays its mysterious presence through narrative episodes;the dissolving of empathizing barriers in sub-worlds leads readers to empathize with the victim Evylyn;the cognitive trademarks offered by the narrator in discourse-worlds help dissolve communicating dilemma;they altogether represent the covert narrative progression developing around the sympathy towards the tragic experiences of the heroine.Finally,the cognitive representation of the double progressions interaction is elaborated from blended world: the mega-metaphor bowl in overt blended world is represented as the symbol of fading beauty;in covert blended world it is represented as the symbol of wicked curse;the double blended worlds of the bowl represent Fitzgerald’s double views on women embedded in this short fiction.With subversive double narrative progressions,Fitzgerald creates double-imaged “flapper” in The Cut-Glass Bowl and conveys opposite rhetoric intentions.Readers are invited to decode the double narrative progressions through cognitive interaction of three-layer world structures and mental representation of blended world,experiencing wonderful spiritual enlightenment and aesthetic pleasure.The organic integration of double narrative progressions and text worlds can offer a dynamic analysis mode for novel studies,comprehensively interpreting cognitive features,mental representation and aesthetic process.