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Discourse structure of 1st and 3rd person novels
Our answer to task A
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Addresser 1
(Charlotte Bronte)
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Message
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Addressee 1
(Reader)
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Addresser 2
(Jayne Eyre: narrator)
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Message
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Addressee 2
(Narratee: Reader)
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Addresser 3
(Jayne Eyre: character)
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Message
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Addressee 1
(Mr Rochester)
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Note that effectively levels 2 and 3 on the left-hand side of the diagram
'collapse together' when Jane speaks, as she is both the narrator and
the character. In other words, the viewpoint for the two levels will often
(but not always) be the same. The narrator looking back may have a different
viewpoint from the younger Jane-the -character, but often their views
and attitudes will be the same. On the right-hand side of the diagram,
levels 1 and 2 collapse together. There is no reified narratee (no actual
person sitting listening to her as she tells her story) and so the reader
will take up the narratee role as he or she reads the novel. This will
make us feel closer and more involved with Jane the narrator as we read.
The particular discourse architecture of this novel thus affects how we
understand it and respond to the viewpoints being presented. Other novels
will have different discourse architectures and so engineer different
viewpoint relations. For instance As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
has 13 different I-narrators, all of whom are presented telling their
version of the story of the death of Addie Bundren, one after another.
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