語りの迷宮への誘い　－ディケンズの「哀れな親戚の話」におけるメタフィクション性について－

概要

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Broadly speaking, Charles Dickens underwent a gradual transformation from an entertainer to a social critic throughout his literary career. Along with this transition in his artistic disposition, however, he showed another characteristic as a novelist: a persistent longing for a warm and loving family. “A Poor Relation’s Story” clearly displays his obsessive preoccupation with a homely atmosphere, but there is a hidden element within this short story of "metafiction" designed to criticise the inhumanity and soullessness of Victorian materialism. In support of this assertion, this essay presents the following three discussions: (1) how the key words or key sentences in the novel are used to indicate its protagonist’s character, (2) to what extent the protagonist's narrative is reliable and why he is fabricating palpable and contradictory lies, and (3) how the novel's metafictional elements confuse readers' attempt to figure out the import of the story and why such an interpretational disorder is projected by the novelist. The conclusive statement at the end of this essay includes the suggestion that each time readers investigate the protagonist's mentality, they are still more deeply mystified by his character and are therefore forced to think further about dark aspects of Victorian England.
2011-11-30