The idea that knowledge is always perspectival, that every understanding is subjective and dependent on an observer, and that by a multiperspectival way of looking at a thing, our notion of this object, our objectivity becomes more extensive and more complex has become a common-place idea. According to the German philosopher’s, Nietzsche’s philosophical theory, termed perspectivism, “there are no immaculate perceptions”, and “knowledge from no point of view is as incoherent a notion as seeing from no particular vantage point” . As Berndt Magnus puts it, “perspectivism also denies the possibility of an all-inclusive perspective, which could contain all others and, hence, make reality available as it is in itself”. [...]
These views about the limits of human understanding and perspectivism were not developed in the field of literature, but in the field of philosophy. However, since the eighteenth century, through the development of innovative narrative forms the novel has had a very important role in making people aware of the fact that all experience, understanding and even history is bound to a person’s subjectivity. As Vera & Ansgar Nünning state in their article, the relationship between narration and perspectivity, or rather the subjectivity of experiencing reality (“Subjektabhängigkeit von Wirklichkeitserfahrung”) is especially clear in the case of multiperspectival narration, because in these narratives several versions of the same events are presented side by side, and thus in such multiperspectival narratives, the emphasis shifts from the narrated events to the mode of experiencing reality. Besides, they add that by contrasting the different descriptions and interpretations there is a constant relativization of the imperfect points of view and of the norms and values of the different individuals, from whose perspective we learn the story while reading the narrative. Therefore, in their view, multiperspectivally narrated novels are suitable to present the diversity of different social viewpoints, ideas, and social discourses.
The first study that provides a precise terminological framework for the analysis of multiperspectival narration is Vera & Ansgar Nünning’s groundbreaking work, in which they apply Manfred Pfister’s theories for the analysis of the different character perspectives in drama.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The Theory of Multiperspectival Narration
2.1 ‘Perspective’ in Optics, Art, Philosophy and in Literary Studies
2.2 Multiperspectival Narration
2.2.1 The Definition of Multiperspectival Narration
2.2.2 Forms of Multiperspectival Narration
2.3 The Perspective Structure of Narrative Texts
2.3.1 The Individual Perspectives
2.3.1.1 Character-perspective
2.3.1.2 Narrator-perspective
2.3.2 The Perspective Structure
2.3.2.1 The Paradigmatic Dimension: Categories for the Analysis of the Selection and Arrangement of the Individual Perspectives
2.3.2.2 The Syntagmatic Dimension: Categories for the Analysis of the Arrangement of Individual Perspectives
2.3.2.3 Closed vs. Open Perspective Structures
2.3.2.4 Controlling Strategies Supporting or Disturbing the Synthesis of the Perspectives
2.4 Framing and Multiperspectivity
2.5 The Role of Multiperspectivity in Narrative Texts
3 Multiperspectival Narration in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House
3.1 The Form of Multiperspectival Narration in Bleak House
3.2 Multiperspectivally Presented Subjects in Bleak House
3.3 The Individual Perspectives in Bleak House
3.3.1 The Narrator-Perspective
3.3.2 Esther’s Perspective
3.3.2.1 Esther as the Experiencing “I”
3.3.2.2 Esther as the Narrating “I”
3.4 The Perspective Structure of Bleak House
3.4.1 The Paradigmatic Dimension of Multiperspectival Narration
3.4.2 The Syntagmatic Dimension of Multiperspectival Narration
3.4.3 The Synthesis of the Perspectives in Bleak House
3.5 The Illustration’s Role in the Novel’s Perspective Structure
4 Multiperspectival Narration in George Eliot’s Middlemarch
4.1 The Form of Multiperspectival Narration in Middlemarch
4.2 Multiperspectivally Presented Subjects in Middlemarch
4.2.1 Multiperspectivally Presented Themes and Events
4.2.2 Multiperspectival Presentation of Characters
4.3 The Individual Perspectives in Middlemarch
4.3.1 Character-perspectives
4.3.1.1 Dorothea’s Perspective
4.3.1.2 Casaubon’s Perspective
4.3.1.3 Will Ladislaw’s perspective
4.3.1.4 Lydgate’s perspective
4.3.1.5 Rosamond’s perspective
4.3.2 The Narrator-perspective
4.3.3 Framing: The Role of the Prelude in Middlemarch
4.4 The Perspective Structure of Middlemarch
4.4.1 The Paradigmatic Dimension of Multiperspectival Narration
4.4.2 The Syntagmatic Dimension of Multiperspectival Narration
4.4.3 The Synthesis of the Perspectives in Middlemarch
4.4.3.1 Middlemarch as a Narrative with an Open Perspective Structure
4.4.3.2 Strategies that Support or Disturb the Synthesis of the Perspective Structure
4.5 The Different Roles of Multiperspectival Narration in Middlemarch
4.5.1.1 Epistemological and Metanarrative Roles of Multiperspectival Narration in Middlemarch
4.5.1.2 Normative and Ideological Roles of Multiperspectival Narration in Middlemarch
5 Conclusion
Objectives & Themes
The primary objective of this thesis is to investigate the utilization of multiperspectival narration within Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and George Eliot’s Middlemarch. The study aims to identify the different narrative perspectives and examine their paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations to understand how these structures influence the reception process and the synthesis of the narrative for the reader.
- Application of Nünning's theoretical framework for multiperspectival analysis.
- Examination of character versus narrator perspectives in Victorian literature.
- Evaluation of "literary framing" techniques, including illustrations and prefaces.
- Comparative analysis of closed versus open perspective structures.
- Discussion of the epistemological and social roles of perspectivity in 19th-century novels.
Excerpt from the Book
The Narrator-Perspective
As Nünning points out, in an authorial narration we encounter an omniscient and usually omnipresent narrator endowed with an individuated perspective. As he puts it, such “a heterodiegetic, overt, and personalized narrator surveys the whole of the action, he conventionally knows everything, and the values he propounds provide a normative standard according to which all the character-perspectives are judged”. According to Nünning’s explanation, the authorial narrative situation usually involves a hierarchical arrangement of perspectives, with the character-perspectives being embedded in the narrator-perspective and with the narrator functioning as a controlling, coordinating, and integrating instance.
Bleak House’s authorial narrator can be regarded in most instances as being an omniscient all-knowing narrator. He knows the English law system and all levels of the English society. Moreover, he is also able to move freely, thus overlooking all actions taking place at the diegetic level.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter establishes the philosophical and theoretical grounding for the study of perspectivism and introduces the relevance of multiperspectivity in literature.
2 The Theory of Multiperspectival Narration: This section provides a comprehensive theoretical framework, defining key terms such as character-perspective, narrator-perspective, and perspective structure, while establishing categories for analysis.
3 Multiperspectival Narration in Charles Dickens’ Bleak House: An application of the theoretical categories to Bleak House, focusing on the double-narrative structure and the role of illustrations as part of the perspective structure.
4 Multiperspectival Narration in George Eliot’s Middlemarch: An in-depth analysis of Middlemarch, exploring its complex network of character perspectives and its open narrative structure.
5 Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the findings, confirming that both novels function as multiperspectival narratives, though they differ significantly in their implementation of perspective synthesis.
Keywords
Multiperspectival Narration, Bleak House, Middlemarch, Narratology, Character-perspective, Narrator-perspective, Perspective Structure, Focalization, Literary Framing, Epistemology, Victorian Literature, Narrative Transmission, Syntagmatic Dimension, Paradigmatic Dimension, Synthesis.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this thesis?
This thesis examines the use and function of multiperspectival narration in two 19th-century English novels: Charles Dickens’ Bleak House and George Eliot’s Middlemarch.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The study centers on the definition of perspective, the distinction between character and narrator viewpoints, the role of narrative structure (paradigmatic and syntagmatic dimensions), and how these affect the reader's reception of the novels.
What is the main research question?
The work investigates whether Bleak House and Middlemarch qualify as multiperspectival narratives under a specific theoretical framework and explores the functions this narrative technique serves in each text.
Which methodology is applied?
The research relies on the theoretical framework for multiperspectival narration developed by Vera and Ansgar Nünning, applying their categories for narratological analysis to the selected novels.
What is covered in the main section?
The main part is divided into two primary analyses, first exploring the double-narrator structure and illustrations of Bleak House, followed by an analysis of the character-focalized, open-ended structure of Middlemarch.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include multiperspectival narration, perspective structure, focalization, character-perspective, and narrative transmission.
How does the author define the role of illustrations in Bleak House?
The author treats illustrations as "internal frames," which serve as an integral part of the narrative and offer an additional perspective that complements the authorial narrator's view.
Why is Middlemarch considered to have an "open" perspective structure?
Middlemarch is described as having an open structure because it lacks a common converging point, resulting in a kaleidoscopic diversity of perspectives that relativize each other and challenge the reader to synthesize the meaning.
- Quote paper
- Julianna Fekete Zsoldos (Author), 2008, Multiperspectival Narration: The Perspective Structure of Charles Dickens´ "Bleak House" and George Eliot´s "Middlemarch", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/177667
