Inheritance And Transcendence:A Study Of The Gothic Narrative In Ian McEwan’s The Cement Garden

Ian McEwan is a contemporary British writer.He is famous for his delicate writing and cold style.He is good at exploring the themes of good and evil,violence,death and lust with his sharp language and unique perspective,thus showing the uneasiness and fear of the modern people,and exposing the dark social reality,which earned him the title of Ian “Mac Abre”.The Cement Garden,with its obvious Gothic color,is a masterpiece of the author’s early Gothic novels.Based on the above background,this thesis proposes to study the Gothic narrative of The Cement Garden.The first chapter of this thesis briefly introduces McEwan and the novel The Cement Garden.It also summarizes the research status of this work at home and abroad,and points out the research significance of the paper.The second chapter mainly introduces the origins of Gothic literature.The thesis introduces not only the concept of Gothic,but also the reasons and background of Gothic novel generated in England.The third chapter specifically explains the inheritance of the traditional Gothic narrative in the non-conventional characterization,horror atmosphere creation and themes of The Cement Garden.The fourth chapter delves into the transcendence of the traditional Gothic narrative in The Cement Garden.The study concludes that this work not only inherits the traditional Gothic literature themes such as decadence,isolation,incest and doom,but also deeply reflects social reality in the context of the times.It satirizes the behavior of Eurosceptics at the time who opposed Britain’s accession to the European Economic Community.This work also expresses the author’s political stance while expressing his dissatisfaction.In addition,this thesis explores the innovative narrative strategies in The Cement Garden from two dimensions,trauma narrative and the use of postmodern Gothic imagery.The concluding section of chapter five not only summarizes the main arguments of the thesis,but also considers the practical significance of Gothic narrative in McEwan’s works.It also reflects on McEwan’s contribution to the inheritance and innovative expansion of Gothic literature.McEwan combines his personal emotions and life with the larger themes of contemporary social reality,showing his dual concern for human reflection and grand themes in every line,which undoubtedly provides British Gothic literature with a novel and unique artistic concept of fiction.