Prose / Novels Throughout Literature
An overview of Northanger Abbey, Jane Eyre and Enduring Love and how novels have appeared to change over time using these 3 texts.
- Created by: Ella
- Created on: 13-05-13 16:03
Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen (1817)
- Regency literary period (1811 - 1821) - Genres: Bildungsroman, social satire, parody of Gothic fiction
- Narrative voice: Third person narrative 'Her' and 'She'. Omniscient narrator- knows the character's thoughts and feelings. Free Indirect Discourse 'could they ever be forgotten?'
- Themes: Youth 'No one who ever seen Catherine Moorland in her infancy would have supposed her born to be an heroine', Suspense 'anxious desire to penetrate this mystery', Social class 'ill-timed intruder was Miss Tilney's maid, sent by her mistress to be of use to Miss Moorland', Loss of love 'The visions of romance were over', Pain or emotions associated with love 'Most bitterly did she cry', Love for personal gain 'a friend who loved her so dearly' irony, 'dearest, sweetest' superlatives.
- Structure- Chronological order (helps to see the rises and falls of their relationship in the order that it happened)
Techniques:
- Direct address 'the reader may be able to judge' (almost before Austen's time, involving the reader into the story)
- Transcendent language 'supernatural means'. Links to the idea of the parody of Gothic fiction and adds to the mystery of both the setting and the relationship.
- Triplet 'whether by her imprudence, vulgarity. or jealousy' highlighting how Catherine is not a typical Gothic heroine.
- Long sentences used when describing the Abbey. Helps to add to the suspense and mystery. Could represent Catherine's heartbeat and uncertainty about where she is.
- Pathetic Fallacy 'A violent gust of wind, rising with sudden fury'
- Foreshadowing - 'the lid closed with alarming violence'. Could also link to how the lid on their relationship (Catherine and Henry) could be closed momentarily due to Catherine's accusation towards Henry's father.
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (1847)
- Victorian literary period (1837 - 1901)
- Genre- Bildungsroman, Gothic elements
- Narrative voice - 1st person, sometimes retrospective narrator (looking back on events) 'Reader, I married him'
- Themes- Youth 'tantrums', Religion 'God will punish her', Social Class 'The house maid alone came here on Saturdays', Suspense 'the secret of the red room-- the spell which kept it so lonely in spite of its grandeur', love vs autonomy (independence) 'far too dearly to flatter you. Don't flatter me.', Insanity 'a figure ran backwards and forwards', love as idyllic 'I will make the world acknowledge that you are a beauty'.
- Structure - hyphens to break up text, possibly to indicate scattered thoughts.
Techniques:
- Animalistic imagery/ language- 'wild as a mane' 'it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal'. Could indicate the jealousy associated with love or how love is an instinctive thing, almost turn primitive.
- Metaphor - 'but an ape in a harlequins jackets' possible indication how people change for a lover. Unnatural and also links to the animalistic imagery.
- Gothic setting and pathetic fallacy - 'it was one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion... this room was chill, because it seldom had fire.' Also juxtaposes chill and fire. Foreshadowing something bad will happen or alternative readings could suggest her current 'chill' or misery will change to 'fire' or passion.
- Influences of courtly love 'I will attire my Jane in satin and lace' courtly lovers often try and lavish their lovers with gifts to try and win them over. Rochester has already done this as they are engaged so could be influenced by courtly love as he may believe this is the way to keep Jane happy and impress her further.
Enduring Love - Ian McEwan (1997)
- Post-modernist (WWII - Present) - Genre- Thriller, Detective, Non- Fiction (reports at end), Romance
- Narrative voice- Unreliable narrator, fragmented narrator 'it marked the beginning and, of course, an end', self conscious narrator 'I'm holding back, delaying information', 1st person
- Themes- Youth 'little nostalgia', Intertextuality 'I knew little about Keats or his poetry', Love as idyllic 'ways our love was different from and superior to any that had ever existed', Love as powerful 'you love me. You love me, and there's nothing I can do but return your love', Insanity 'there's nothing I could do but return your love', Science and Intelligence, Love of religion 'Faith is joy' - short snappy sentence, religion/ faith is Jed's catalyst for happiness and not giving up hope. (appendix)
-Structure - Story and chapters fragmented. For example switching from Jed Parry to being in Jean Logan's house. Also having the psychiatric reports at the end, adds an element of non-fiction and playing with genre (typical of pm)
Techniques:
- Passionate language 'beauties, passionately written'
- Triplets 'a beautiful women loved and wanted to be loved by a large clumsy, balding fellow who could hardly believe his luck' Love based partly on looks. Love against social expectations, typically literature suggests that these characters would not be attracted as not both characters are beautiful. Helps show the reality of love.
- Repetition 'You love me, you love me'. Possibly showing how strong the emotions are.
- KEY QUOTATION 'Two atoms of hydrogen, one of oxygen, bound together by a mysterious powerful force'. Links with the theme of science and how people can be bound together, natural chemistry or how opposites attract.
- Intertextuality 'I knew little about Keats or his poetry' Could symbolise Clarissa being both intelligent and romantic.
Novels Over Time (in relation to the 3 texts)
- Narrator gets less reliable.
- Introduction of more genres and a mix of genres as time goes on.
- Intertextuality gets more complicated (ie 'Udolpho' in Northanger Abbey is used to show
Catherine's possible desires, whereas the scientific reports and Keats in Enduring love is used to help identify intelligence but its also hard to identify which is linked to the plot (almost unreliable).
- Omniscient narrator (all knowing) with third person narrative -> self-conscious narrator, fragmented narrative, 1st person and unreliable narrators.
- Later novels start bringing in non-fiction (e.g the appendixes in Enduring Love)
- Chronological order -> time shifts
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