| Ian Mc Ewan is one of the most influential writers in contemporary 21 st century Britain,and his works have increasingly been favored by readers and literary critics.The research topics of his works also involve in various aspects,among which spatial narrative research is a particularly prominent topic,which has developed rapidly but needs to be refined.In the latter half of the 20 th century,the “space turn” in the humanities and social sciences pushed spatial issues to the forefront of literary research,forming a unique trend of “literary space research”.Robert Tally’s theory of literary cartography has gradually developed and matured in this field.The concept of literary cartography originated from Tally’s discovery of the inherent similarity between narrative and cartography.On one hand,Tally figuratively referred a writer’s narrative writing as cartography,and on the other hand,focused on the representation of space in the text through cartography.This thesis adopts Robert Tally’s literary cartography as the main theoretical perspective,takes Ian Mc Ewan’s novels as the research object,and selects three representative novels — The Comfort of Strangers(1981),Saturday(2005)and Machines Like Me(2019).The thesis discusses the narrative space in Mc Ewan’s novels from the perspectives of the representation,strategy,and postmodern characteristics of his cartography.The thesis is divided into five chapters.The introduction briefly introduce Ian Mc Ewan and some of his works,and a brief explanation of the main theory applied to this thesis is given.Chapter two analyzes the metaphorical representation of space in Mc Ewan’s novels from the perspectives of real-and-imaginary city,psychological space,and power identity.The geographical space of real-and-imagined city projects the author’s concerns and prospects for the existing city;the psychological space echoes with the real space,reflecting the author’s thinking about self and the other;the discipline of power is not only reflected in individual identity,but also widely exists in the social political space.Chapter three discusses Mc Ewan’s narrative strategies for constructing literary cartography.By selecting spatial elements,weakening the linearity of time,and changing the narrative perspective,Mc Ewan consciously constructs cartography,and incorporates his thinking of individuals and society into the textual space of the novel.Chapter four explores the postmodern features reflected in Mc Ewan’s cartography.Whether it is the spatial anxiety that pervades Mc Ewan’s cartography,the revolt against modernity in the narrative and the representation of cartography,or the dissolution of the grand narrative,all show typical postmodernist characteristics.As literary spatial research continues to deepen,the exploration of space in literary works has also received unprecedented attention.From the perspective of literary cartography,the investigation of the construction and representation of spatial narratives in Mc Ewan’s novels provides a new perspective and supplement to related research. |
