Abstract: This paper is a study of the narrators’ funcitons and the narrative techniques in the Victorian work The Woman in White. Unlike the traditional ones, this novel empolyed eight narrators who perform the function of four types, namely, intervention, self-consciousness, reliability type and distance, which makes the story more suspensive and arouses the appetite for further reading. What’s more, the story revolves around two plots, the overt plot being Walter Hartright and Laura’s Love, and the covert plot being Percival’s secret and the identity of the woman in white. Both the overt and covert plots strengthen the effect of the suspense of the novel, stimulating the imagination of readers. Another writing technique used in the work is imperfection. Some suspenses are left unexplained and some clues in the developing of the story suddenly disappear in the former part, but then appear in the later one. But no one can deny that it is just the employment of the unique narrative techniques and the unresolved suspension that make the novel classic attracting uncountable interpretations.

Key words:  narrator; narrative features; narrator’s functions; writing techniques

CONTENTS

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction1

  1.1William Wilkie Collins and The Woman in White

1.2 Literature Review

2. The Overt and Covert Plot Structure..3

2.1 Overt Plot —Walter Hartright and Laura’s Love

2.2 Covert Plot —Percival’s Secret and the Identity of the Woman in White

3. Functions of the Characters5

3.1 The Introduction to Four Kinds of Narrators’ Function

3.2 Eight Narrators and Their Different Functions

4.The Narrative Feature And The Main Problems in the Suspense Tactics8

4.1 The Narrative Feature

4.2 The Writing Techniques of the Novel

4.3 The Problems in the Writing Techniques

5. Conclusion10

Bibliography.11

Acknowledgments12