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

Author

Stephanie Turner, Pitzer CollegeFollow

Graduation Year

2009

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

English & World Literature

Reader 1

Sumangala Bhattacharya

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2009 Stephanie Turner

Abstract

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.

Comments

Previously linked to as: http://ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/u?/stc,52

OCLC number: 549520033

Recommended Citation

Turner, Stephanie, "Serving the Storyline of the Novel: The Powerful Role of the Feudal Servant-Narrator" (2009). Pitzer Senior Theses. 10.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/10