(BLOCK-3) (UNIT-2) THE PROBLEM OF NARRATIVE

1. Do you think Nelly is a reliable narrator? Can narrators be reliable? Discuss.

Nelly Dean, the housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange, is one of the primary narrators in Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. While Nelly provides us with a great deal of information about the story's events and characters, it is worth questioning whether or not she is a reliable narrator.

In some ways, Nelly is a reliable narrator. She has been a part of the story's events for a long time and has intimate knowledge of the characters and their histories. Nelly is also generally honest and truthful, which makes her a trustworthy source of information.

However, Nelly's reliability is called into question in a few key ways. First, she is not an unbiased narrator. Nelly has her own opinions and biases, and these sometimes color the way she presents events and characters. For example, her dislike of Heathcliff sometimes makes her present him in an unfairly negative light.

Second, Nelly sometimes admits to withholding information or manipulating events to suit her own purposes. For example, she withholds the fact that Cathy has been writing to Linton from Heathcliff, which leads to a great deal of confusion and conflict. She also helps to orchestrate Cathy and Linton's marriage, which ultimately leads to tragedy.

In general, it's worth keeping in mind that all narrators are fallible to some extent. They have their own perspectives, biases, and agendas, which can shape the way they present events and characters. As readers, it's up to us to read critically and carefully, questioning the narrator's reliability and considering multiple perspectives before coming to our own conclusions.

2. Of the three critical positions that we have discussed about the narrative in the novel, which do you think is the most acceptable. Why?

The passage discusses the narrative techniques employed in Emily Bronte's novel "Wuthering Heights." The narrative technique is described as a story within a story, like a Chinese box, where the reader enters physical and mental spaces of the characters. The novel employs different narrators and listeners, creating a complex narrative that adds suspense and mystery to the story. The reader is condemned to resurrect the ghostly past of Wuthering Heights and different voices speak to the reader. The passage also discusses early critical readings of the novel that sought to impose universal paradigms and attribute specific meanings to the relationships in the novel, while later critics questioned this Romantic idealization.

3. Do you think Wuthering Heights is a modern novel? Does the narrative technique make the novel modem?

Wuthering Heights was published in 1847, which places it firmly in the Victorian era of English literature. While it is not a modern novel in the sense that we understand the term today, it does contain elements that make it feel somewhat modern or ahead of its time.

One of the ways that Wuthering Heights can be seen as modern is through its unconventional narrative structure. The novel is told through a series of nested narratives, with different characters narrating different parts of the story. This creates a fragmented, multi-perspective narrative that is not typical of novels from the Victorian era. In this sense, the narrative technique can be seen as somewhat modern, as it anticipates some of the experimental techniques that would be used by later writers.

Another way that Wuthering Heights can be seen as modern is through its exploration of darker and more complex themes. The novel delves into issues of love, jealousy, revenge, and the destructive power of obsession. These are themes that were not always explored in Victorian literature, which tended to be more concerned with upholding traditional moral values.

Overall, while Wuthering Heights is not a modern novel in the strictest sense of the term, it contains elements that make it feel somewhat ahead of its time. Its unconventional narrative structure and exploration of complex themes mark it as a work that is pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable in Victorian literature, and this may be why it continues to resonate with readers today.

4. We have mentioned Swift, Chaucer and Conrad as authors who practiced the technique of narration with the use of a persona. Can you think of other novelists who use similar techniques. Can you point out differences?

Yes, there are many other novelists who use the technique of narration with the use of a persona or a mask. Here are a few examples:

J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is narrated by Holden Caulfield, a teenage boy who speaks in a colloquial and sometimes vulgar style. Like Swift's persona, Holden often presents himself as unreliable, and the reader must sift through his narration to get to the truth.

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale is narrated by Offred, a handmaid in a dystopian future where women's rights have been severely curtailed. Offred is a complex persona, as she tries to present a stoic exterior while also revealing her inner thoughts and feelings.

Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day is narrated by Stevens, an English butler who reflects on his life and career. Stevens is a highly controlled persona, and his narration is marked by a formal and precise style that reflects his training as a butler.

There are, of course, many other examples, and each author's use of the persona or mask can differ in significant ways. For example, Swift's persona in Gulliver's Travels is often presented as overtly unreliable, while Ishiguro's Stevens is reliable to a fault. Atwood's Offred, meanwhile, is both reliable and unreliable, as she tries to present a facade of compliance while also revealing her subversive thoughts. These differences highlight the versatility of the technique of narration with the use of a persona and the various effects it can achieve.