Abstract

Nelly Dean is the main narrator of Wuthering Heights. Her narration is often regarded as reliable because she was not only the eyewitness of the events, but also a faithful housekeeper in the story. Nevertheless, her distinctive personality and subjective attitudes towards different characters in the story as well as her utterances and deeds arouse readers’ suspicion towards the reliability of her narration. This thesis consists of three parts. The first part is the introduction, which introduces the plot of the novel and current studies about the reliability of the narrator Nelly Dean; the main body of the thesis includes three chapters: Chapter One explores the unreliability caused by Nelly Dean’s multiple roles in the novel; Chapter Two takes the view from her personalities; Chapter Three discusses Nelly’s attitudes towards different character; the third part is the conclusion that Nelly lacks the qualities necessary for her to be a reliable narrator. The thesis aims to approach the novel by examining reliability of its main narrator.

Keyword: Nelly Dean；unreliable narrator；multiple roles；unique personality；attitudes

Contents

Abstract

摘  要

1.-Introduction-1

1.1 The Plot-1

1.2 Current studies-1

1.3 My research question-2

2. Chapter One  The unreliability of Nelly Dean’s multiple roles in the novel-4

2.1 The narrative method and Nelly Dean’s role outside the main plot as a narrator-4

2.2 Promotion of status----Nelly Dean’s roles in the story-6

2.2.1 Nelly Dean’s role as a servant at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange-6

2.2.2 Nelly Dean’s role as an adviser to Catherine and Isabella-8

2.2.3 Nelly Dean’s role as a nursemaid of young Cathy-9

3. Chapter Two  The unreliability of Nelly’s unique personality towards different characters.-11

3.1 Nelly has a feeling of imagined equality-11

3. 2 Nelly is a jealous and disloyal servant-11

3.3 Nelly is a self-righteous manipulator but likes shirking responsibility-12

4. Chapter Three   The unreliability of Nelly’s attitudes towards different characters.-13

4.1 Nelly’s attitudes towards Catherine-13

4.2 Nelly’s attitudes towards Heathcliff-14

5. Conclusion-15

References 16