In this studyi apply a feminist-narratological grid to
the works under discussion. I show how narration is used as
strategy to highlight issues of concern to women, hereby
attempting to make a contribution in the relatively new field
of feminist narratology.
Chapter One provides an analysis of Pride and Prejudice
as an example of a feminist statement by Jane Austen. The use
of omniscient narration and its ironic possibilities are
offset against the central characters' perceptions, presented
by means of free indirect style.
Chapter Two examines The Tenant of Wildfell Hall as a
critique of Wuthering Heights, both in its use of narrative
frames and in its at times moralistic comment. The third and
fourth chapters focus on Charlotte Bronte. Her ambivalences
about the situation of women, be they writers, narrators or
characters, are explored. These are seen to be revealed in her
narrative strategies, particularly in her attainment of
closure, or its lack.
Chapter Five explores the increasing sophistication of
the narrative techniques of Elizabeth Gaskell, whose early
work Mary Barton is shown to have narrative inconsistencies as
opposed to her more complex last novel Wives and Daughters.
Finally, I conclude that while the authors under
discussion use divergent methods, certain commonalities
prevail. Among these are the presentation of alternatives
women have within their constraining circumstances and the
recognition of their moral accountability for the choices they
make.English StudiesD. Litt. et Phil. (English
