At the turn of the twentieth century German and French Linguists first mentioned the free indirect discourse (FID) while analysing Flaubert's use of the French imperfect tense. FID allows the author to embed the voice of the character into the voice of the narrator's voice. This is a brief introduction to the formal details of this style, embeded in a few pragnant examples.
Table of Contents
1. Free Indirect Discourse
2. Free Indirect Discourse in Selected Novels
2.1 Jane Austen: Emma
2.2 Henry James: Portrait of a Lady
2.3 Virginia Woolf: Orlando
2.4 James Joyce: Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
3. Conclusion
4. Bibliography
4.1 Primary Literature
4.2 Secondary Literature
5. Appendix: Selected Definitions
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines the linguistic and narrative technique of "Free Indirect Discourse" (FID), exploring how it enables authors to embed a character's thoughts and voice within the narrator's discourse. The research aims to clarify the boundaries between direct discourse, indirect discourse, and FID, while analyzing how various novelists utilize this technique to convey subjective perspectives.
- The linguistic markers and syntactic structures defining Free Indirect Discourse.
- Distinctions between FID, direct discourse, and indirect discourse.
- The ambiguity of source attribution in FID passages.
- Comparative analysis of FID usage in works by Austen, James, Woolf, and Joyce.
- The relationship between FID and stream of consciousness/interior monologue.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1 Jane Austen: Emma
Many scholars refer to Jane Austen as the first English novelist "to use free indirect speech in a significant and deliberate manner." (Wikipedia, 20.03.07) Austen uses FID in order to transfer opinions and feelings of the protagonists, while usually employing a third person narrator. Various passages in Emma, for instance, obviously express Emma's opinion, while the reader – led by the omniscient narrator – might have gained quite a different idea.
This becomes already clear in the first chapters, when Emma plans to refine Harriet Smith' manners and tastes and to make a match for her with Mr. Elton. Harriet, however, seems to have taken a liking to Mr. Robert Martin, a young and well-settled farmer, who, in the course of the narration, proposes to her. The reader is likely to estimate Mr. Martin as a suitable husband for Harriet. This is done by various means, e.g. by the reader's general knowledge of Harriet's and of Mr. Martin's situation, by Harriet's descriptions of Robert Martin, even by the information the reader gains from Emma, and not at least by Mr. Knightley's judgement on the subject (54f), whose opinion the reader is supposed to regard as reliable. The underlined discourses in the following examples, however, are in contrast to this evaluation and, therefore, appear unlikely to originate in the omniscient narrator. They obviously constitute Emma's opinion as the attachment disturbs her plans:
For some time she [Emma] was amused, without thinking beyond the immediate cause; but as she came to understand the family [the Martins] better, other feelings arose. She had take up a wrong idea, fancying it was a mother and a daughter, a son and son's wife, who all lived together; but when it appeared that the Mr. Martin, who bore a part in the narrative, and was always mentioned with approbation for his great good-nature in doing something or other, was a single man – that there was no young Mrs. Martin, no wife in the case – she did suspect danger to her poor little friend from all this hospitality and kindness, and that, if she were not taken care of, she might be required to sink herself for ever. (24)
Summary of Chapters
1. Free Indirect Discourse: This chapter introduces the definition of Free Indirect Discourse as a linguistic technique and contrasts it with direct and indirect speech using specific syntactic markers.
2. Free Indirect Discourse in Selected Novels: This section provides a practical analysis of how various authors, specifically Austen, James, Woolf, and Joyce, employ FID to convey character subjectivity.
3. Conclusion: The conclusion summarizes the main findings, noting that while FID has identifiable features, it often remains difficult to distinguish from stream of consciousness without careful context analysis.
4. Bibliography: This section lists the primary and secondary literature utilized for the research.
5. Appendix: Selected Definitions: This chapter compiles various scholarly definitions of Free Indirect Discourse and related terms in both English and German.
Keywords
Free Indirect Discourse, FID, Narrative technique, Subjectivity, Literary analysis, Jane Austen, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Henry James, Inquit formulas, Direct discourse, Indirect discourse, Stream of consciousness, Narratology, Fiction.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on the literary technique known as Free Indirect Discourse (FID), examining how it functions as a bridge between a narrator's voice and a character's internal thoughts.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The themes include the linguistic classification of narrative modes, the role of syntactic markers, the representation of consciousness in literature, and the stylistic variations across selected classic novels.
What is the main objective of the research?
The primary goal is to analyze how FID operates as a tool for character focalization and to understand the challenges of attributing discourse source in ambiguous literary passages.
Which scientific methodology is used?
The author employs a comparative literary analysis approach, utilizing linguistic theory and narratology to examine specific text passages from various novels.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body investigates the technical definitions of FID and provides detailed case studies of its application in novels like "Emma," "The Portrait of a Lady," "Orlando," and Joyce's works.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include Free Indirect Discourse, narrative subjectivity, character focalization, literary style, and the works of major English novelists.
How does the author identify FID in Jane Austen’s "Emma"?
The author identifies FID by showing how the text reflects Emma's subjective opinions, which contrast with the omniscient narrator's information, thereby revealing the character's bias.
Why is Joyce’s "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" cited in the context of FID?
It is cited to demonstrate how FID can blend into "stream of consciousness," showing that the boundaries between these techniques can be fluid depending on grammatical structure.
How is the distinction between FID and "stream of consciousness" explained?
The author suggests that while both represent character thought, FID is often characterized by a more structured grammatical form compared to the more chaotic nature of stream of consciousness.
- Citar trabajo
- Eva Maria Mauter (Autor), 2007, Free Indirect Discourse in Selected Novels, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/73698
