"A Self is always becoming": A Narrative Analysis of Carrie Meeber and Edna Pontellier's Selves

Abstract

The thesis analyzes and compares how the narrators of "The Awakening" (1899), by Kate Chopin, and "Sister Carrie" (1900), by Theodore Dreiser, represent the selves of the novels’ two protagonists, Edna Pontellier and Carrie Meeber. It bases its analysis on Dorrit Cohn’s concept of psycho-narration, a narrative technique for representing consciousness in a text. The thesis also utilizes selected theories of the “self” to more fully perceive the subtle nuances and detailed aspects of Carrie and Edna’s selves. When discussing Carrie’s self, the thesis uses Thorstein Veblen’s concept of “pecuniary emulation” and theory on action-based desire. It does so to examine her mental life and how it inspires action intended to create her self. When discussing Edna’s self, the thesis uses theory on emotional detachment caused by repression to examine how her self both relies on and is constituted by emotional reactions and a desire for romantic fusion. Furthermore, the analysis investigates how aspects of narrative technique such as indirect and direct characterization, consonance and dissonance in psycho-narration, internal and external focalization and narrative meditation can create different narrative representations of literary selves. To show the importance of psycho-narration in the texts, the thesis compares the narrators’ representations. A comparison permits the reader to see how the literary devices shape and create different portrayals of literary selves. It brings forth and enhances our perception of the subtle differences in the narrators’ representations. Given that little research has been conducted on literary selves in naturalist novels and how characters are represented, the thesis also seeks to cover new ground by combining a focus on psycho-narration and with the selected theories of the self. Despite naturalist texts sometimes being considered as inept at rendering consciousness, the thesis shows that "Sister Carrie" and "The Awakening" offer nuanced representations of literary selves.