Eventfulness in British Fiction (Narratologia: Contributions to Narrative Theory)

"An event, defined as the decisive turn, the surprising point in the plot of a narrative, constitutes its tellability, the motivation for reading it. This book describes a framework for a narratological definition of eventfulness and its dependence on the historical, socio-cultural and literary context. A series of fifteen analyses of British novels and tales, from late medieval and early modern times to the late 20th century, demonstrates how this concept can be put into practice for a new, specifically contextual interpretation of the central relevance of these texts. The examples include Chaucer's "Miller's Tale", Behn's "Oroonoko", Defoe's "Moll Flanders", Richardson's "Pamela", Fielding's "Tom Jones", Dickens's "Great Expectations", Hardy's "On the Western Circuit", James's "The Beast in the Jungle", Joyce's "Grace", Conrad's "Shadow-Line", Woolf's "Unwritten Novel", Lawrence's "Fanny and Annie", Mansfield's "At the Bay", Fowles's "Enigma" and Swift's "Last Orders". This selection is focused on the transitional period from 19th-century realism to 20th-century modernism because during these decades traditional concepts of what counts as an event were variously problematized; therefore, these texts provide a particularly interesting field for testing the analytical capacity of the term of eventfulness."--Publisher's website Frontmatter ......Page 2 Contents......Page 8 1. Introduction......Page 10 2. Geoffrey Chaucer: “The Miller’s Tale”......Page 26 3. Aphra Behn: Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave: A True History (1688)......Page 40 4. Daniel Defoe: Moll Flanders (1722)......Page 58 5. Samuel Richardson: Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740)......Page 72 6. Henry Fielding: The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749)......Page 83 7. Charles Dickens: Great Expectations (1861)......Page 96 8. Thomas Hardy: “On the Western Circuit” (1891)......Page 113 9. Henry James: “The Beast in the Jungle” (1903)......Page 123 10. James Joyce: “Grace” (1914)......Page 134 11. Joseph Conrad: The Shadow-Line: A Confession (1917)......Page 142 12. Virginia Woolf: “An Unwritten Novel” (1921)......Page 154 13. D. H. Lawrence: “Fanny and Annie” (1921)......Page 165 14. Katherine Mansfield: “At the Bay” (1922)......Page 173 15. John Fowles: “The Enigma” (1974)......Page 184 16. Graham Swift: Last Orders (1996)......Page 194 17. Conclusion......Page 210 An Event Is Here Defined As The Decisive Turn, The Surprising Point In The Plot Of A Narrative, Which Constitutes Its Tellability, The Motivation For Reading It. The Book Describes A Framework For The Narratological Definition Of This Term And Its Dependence On The Historical, Socio-cultural And Literary Context. A Series Of Analyses Of Canonical British Novels And Tales, From The Early Modern Period To The End Of The 20th Century, Demonstrates In Detail How This Concept Can Be Put Into Practice For A Specific Contextual Interpretation Of The Eventfulness Of These Texts. Main description: An event, defined as the decisive turn, the surprising point in the plot of a narrative, constitutes its tellability, the motivation for reading it. The book describes a framework for a narratological definition of eventfulness and its dependence on the historical, socio-cultural and literary context. The detailed analyses of 15 British novels or tales, from early modern times to the late 20th century, demonstrate how this concept can be put into practice for a new, specifically contextual interpretation of the central relevance of these texts