A Study Of Spatial Narrative In A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens(1812-1870),an eminent novelist and critic in Victorian period,has gained great honor in not only English literary history but also world literary history.A Christmas Carol is the most well-known of Dickens’ Christmas novellas.In this novella,Dickens breaks the traditional way of linear narration,making it a novella with a strong sense of space in terms of both content and form.This thesis mainly falls into five chapters.Chapter One is an introduction,including the introduction of Charles Dickens and A Christmas Carol,literature review and significance of the research,a general review of the spatial theories,especially spatial narrative theories,and structure of the thesis.Chapter Two mainly analyzes the topographical space in A Christmas Carol.The topographical space is subdivided into substantial and insubstantial spaces.Downtown London is on the one hand showing its prosperity due to the development of commodity industry and simultaneously exhibiting various social problems caused by the wide gap between the rich and the poor,while the suburban area of London is used as a reminiscent field and a narrative vehicle to facilitate the narrative process,showing the unique beauty of the countryside and paving the way for forming the personality of Scrooge.Apart from providing a warning and aesthetic function,the insubstantial spaces also rationalize the sudden shift of scenes,creating a fragmented and juxtaposed spatial effect.Chapter Three mainly analyzes the social space in A Christmas Carol.Social relations are very much a reflection of the wider social environment.By analysing Scrooge’s domestic and social relationships,we can see that most of the problems in society are caused by the extreme pursuit of money.People are alienated into machines,and in this environment lose their most basic human emotions and beliefs.In Chapter Four,the textual space of the novella is analysed.In order to develop the spatial form of the work,Dickens employs the spatial narrative strategies of temporal and spatial juxtaposition,fragmentation and repetition to break the traditional linear narrative development sequence.The last chapter is the conclusion of this thesis.Firstly,as a narrative vehicle facilitating the narrative process and a denotative sign system conveying values and ideologies,topographical space in A Christmas Carol provides the context for the words and actions of the characters and the development of the story,forming the spatial scene in the narration.Secondly,the interaction among Scrooge and the others in the social space demonstrates the indifference among people and the differences among social classes,and conveys the significance of faith and benevolence.Finally,as to the textual space,Dickens employs the spatial narrative strategies of temporal and spatial juxtaposition,fragmented plot and repetition to break the traditional linear narrative,providing a reference for the study of spatial narrative in early fiction.All in all,based on spatial theories,especially spatial narrative theories,this thesis analyzes Dickens’ A Christmas Carol from the perspectives of topographical space,social space and textual space by using the research methods of close reading,so as to provide a new perspective for re-reading A Christmas Carol.