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Serving the Storyline of the Novel: The Powerful Role of the Feudal Servant-Narrator

This thesis addresses issues of class as represented through the narrative agency exercised by the servant-narrator in Castle Rackrent and Wuthering Heights. Thady Quirk and Ellen Dean are servant-narrators who strategically use feigned allegiance, astute perception, and selective disclosure to wield power over the lives of their masters. These “arts of subordination” allow the servant-narrator to tell his or her own life narrative, while appearing to share the masters’ memoirs. While both servant-narrators are motivated by economic means, Ellen Dean’s involvement throughout Wuthering Heights is further complicated by her desires of emotional connection. However, each servant-narrator achieves his or her goals by manipulating the events and relationships that constitute his or her masters’ lives.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:CLAREMONT/oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:pitzer_theses-1009
Date01 May 2009
CreatorsTurner, Stephanie
PublisherScholarship @ Claremont
Source SetsClaremont Colleges
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourcePitzer Senior Theses
Rights© 2009 Stephanie Turner

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