Edith Wharton's "The Writing of Fiction" explores narrative techniques crucial for crafting compelling stories. Focused on her short story "Roman Fever," this essay delves into Wharton's emphasis on narrator control, concealment, and strategic revelation of story elements. Wharton advocates for revealing insights through specific fragments, constructing a captivating whole and maintaining audience interest.
Examining "Roman Fever," the essay argues that Wharton skillfully connects narrative construction with gradual character secret disclosure. The story unfolds on a Roman terrace, concealing secrets until a climactic revelation involving American women Grace Ansley and Alida Slade. Selected passages illustrate Wharton's deliberate shaping of perspective, emphasizing her preference for withholding closure.
The analysis centers on Wharton's use of an omniscient narrator and internal focalization on Alida Slade, exploring how the narrative voice mediates content, controlling readers' perspectives on events and characters. The essay delves into the intricacies of the second story construction, providing a detailed examination.
The goal is to draw insightful conclusions about Wharton's narrative techniques and their impact on temporal disclosure. This exploration promises readers a deeper understanding of Wharton's literary craftsmanship and an enriched appreciation for the interplay between narrative perspective and storytelling construction in "Roman Fever."
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Narrative Construction of “Roman Fever”
2.1. Omniscient Narration and Internal Focalization
2.2. First and Second Story
3. Conclusion
Research Objective and Themes
This paper examines how Edith Wharton employs specific narrative techniques in her short story "Roman Fever" to mediate the gradual disclosure of character secrets. By analyzing the interplay between omniscient narration, internal focalization, and the construction of a hidden "second story," the work explores how Wharton withholds information to maintain psychological tension and narrative coherence until the final climactic revelation.
- Role of the omniscient narrator in controlling information flow
- Use of internal focalization to shape audience perception
- Significance of the "second story construction" in narrative structure
- Symbolism of knitting as a psychological concealment strategy
- Relationship between narrative technique and the "surprise" ending
Excerpt from the Book
2.1. Omniscient Narration and Internal Focalization
One method that Wharton leverages to temporize the disclosure and the story’s “surprise ending” (Phelan 341) is the throughout omniscient narration. Generally, the authorial narrative situation is characterized by “omniscience and omnipresence” (Nünning and Nünning 113), which means that the narrator has access to the insights of the characters’ psychological and mental processes, thereby being “familiar[…] with their thoughts and feelings;” (Nünning and Nünning 113).
Throughout “Roman Fever”, Wharton makes use of an omniscient narrator which gives her the advantage to convey the characters’ thoughts. This, similarly, also leads to the narrator’s opportunity to decide which psychological insights will be incorporated into the narrative and also transmitted to the audience. However, during the whole story, Wharton’s narrator mainly restricts the representation of the characters’ thoughts on the internal focalization of Alida Slade. This is a crucial technique used in order to postpone the disclosure of the relevant secret until the final climactic point (Phelan 436): in fact, it is mainly Grace’s secret of having slept with Delphin Slade and, thus, Barbara being Delphin’s child (Wharton 1985: 256), which totally reshapes the audience’s former perceptions and assumptions.
To construct her narrative logically in retrospective, Wharton intentionally incorporates some “major tensions” (Phelan 346) which may appear unremarkable at first glance: ‘After all, it’s the most beautiful view in the world.’ ‘It always will be, to me,’ assented her friend Mrs. Ansley, with so slight a stress on the ‘me’ that Mrs. Slade, though she noticed it, wondered if it were not merely accidental, like the random underlinings of old-fashioned letter-writers. (Wharton 1985: 242; emphasis added).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces Edith Wharton’s literary theories regarding short story construction and establishes the paper's thesis concerning the link between narrative technique and secret disclosure in "Roman Fever."
2. Narrative Construction of “Roman Fever”: This section analyzes how Wharton utilizes omniscient narration, character focalization, and thematic symbols to build suspense and sustain the "second story" hidden beneath the surface plot.
3. Conclusion: This chapter summarizes how Wharton’s strategic use of narrative concealment successfully motivates the final climactic revelation and consolidates the story's rhetorical coherence.
Keywords
Edith Wharton, Roman Fever, Narrative Construction, Omniscient Narration, Internal Focalization, Second Story, Secret Disclosure, Rhetorical Coherence, Psychological Tension, Symbolic Imagery, Literary Analysis, Modernist Practices, Surprise Ending
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper focuses on the narrative architecture of Edith Wharton’s "Roman Fever," specifically examining how she balances the disclosure and concealment of information to effectively craft a surprise ending.
What are the central thematic fields addressed?
The central themes include narrative framing, the psychology of secrecy, intergenerational rivalry, and the symbolic significance of objects like knitting in the context of the story's plot.
What is the main research objective?
The main objective is to illustrate how Wharton intentionally links her narrative structure—specifically her choice of narrator and focalization—to the delayed revelation of the characters' secrets.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The paper utilizes close reading and stylistic analysis, drawing upon narrative theory to examine how the text constructs, manipulates, and subsequently reveals the "second story" alongside the "first story."
What is covered in the main section of the paper?
The main section investigates the mechanics of omniscient narration, why the author prioritizes the internal focalization of Alida Slade, and how the "second story" functions as a hidden, illegitimate subtext.
Which keywords characterize this analysis?
Key terms include narrative construction, omniscient narration, internal focalization, second story, and rhetorical coherence.
How does the symbolism of knitting contribute to the story's narrative?
Knitting is identified as a vital symbol that acts as a concealment strategy, allowing Grace to hide her true self and internal responses while masking the deeper, more complex "second story."
Why is the "second story" considered essential to the author’s technique?
It is essential because it is a non-explicit, underlying narrative that is necessary for the reader to truly understand the dynamics of the characters and the eventual, jarring impact of the "surprise ending."
What role does Alida Slade’s internal focalization play?
Alida’s focalization is used to restrict the reader's perspective, reflecting her own arrogance and limited understanding of Grace, which ultimately makes the climactic revelation even more transformative for both the character and the reader.
- Citar trabajo
- Kim-Cheyenne Greiner (Autor), 2015, Narrative Perspective in Edith Wharton's "Roman Fever", Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1440770
