A Study On The Narrative Ethics Of Penelope Fitzgerald’s Novels

Penelope Fitzgerald is one of the outstanding female writers in post-World War II Britain.Her works are characterized by concise and humorous language,intricate and complex forms,and a close connection to her own experiences and the times she lived in.Her themes have always revolved around gender,class,human nature,and morality,with her novels containing rich ethical factors that reflect her thoughts and insights on societal realities and human destiny.In a heterogeneous era of ethical value collapse,Fitzgerald continuously broke through barriers in her writing,searching for the correct moral direction and achieving ethical sublimation.Throughout her literary career,Penelope Fitzgerald consistently pursued humanitarian values,consciously integrating her concern and reflection on ethical relationships between people and society into her writing,influenced by the changing ethical views of post-World War II British society and the humanist atmosphere of her native family.Her rich experiences of life after marriage in the lower class also enabled her to more realistically portray the social material and cultural environment in her works,laying a foundation for highlighting the characteristics of the characters.The ethical themes of Fitzgerald’s novels always present different topics,with ethical issues of marriage and survival interwoven throughout: by showcasing the similar ethical dilemmas faced by women of different identities in marital relationships,she reveals the deep-rooted Western patriarchal system and also affirms the independent and strong spiritual traits of women by depicting their processes of escaping and returning to their families to seek their own identity and values.Through presenting the survival dilemmas of marginalized groups,she shows the establishment of utopias for those living on the urban fringe,the positive resistance of rural fringe groups against privilege,and endows them with deep sympathy,as well as expressing criticism of class and power.Meanwhile,Fitzgerald also skillfully employs various narrative techniques,such as narrative intervention,narrative perspective switching,and narrative time and space,to conceal profound ethical connotations within the narrative structure.Through effective intervention by the narrator,the narrative not only presents objectivity but also enables readers to sense the author’s ethical orientation through the narrative discourse itself.By exploring the flexible use and transformation of zero focus and internal focus,readers can also experience indirect ethical communication and exchange between her and her readers and truly feel the life predicaments of the marginalized group in the text.Fitzgerald also breaks the linear time frame,interweaving the past and present,and piecing together scattered fragments of events,allowing time to intermingle with character destiny and ethical order,thus highlighting social alienation and the collapse of values through the ethical choices and fate of the characters.In the process of changing time and character perspectives,space is given different ethical connotations,thus causing readers to resonate with the ethical aspects.Through her unique narrative techniques,Penelope Fitzgerald tells stories with ease,showing her concern about the ethical dilemmas of a heterogeneous era and conveying her understanding and care for the marginalized groups in society,harmoniously integrating narrative form with ethical themes.