关键词: 赎罪; 他者伦理; 嵌套结构; 视角转换; 不可靠叙述

Abstract:

Atonement, a novel written by Ian McEwan, conveys rich ethical connotations of the Other because of its exploration of the relationship between the Self and the Other. Such an ethical affect not only springs from his ingenious plot but also from his exploration of an innovative pattern of narrative discourse that combines embedded narration, shift of points of view, and unreliable narration to disclose implication of alterity ethics as well as the relation between the ethical expression of author, narrator, and reader and style of the narrative. The author of this paper examines the function of these three narrative techniques in strengthening the expression of alterity ethics and explores how McEwan guides readers to reflect on their ethical consciousness through alterity ethics at the narrative level. With this research, the author suggests that McEwan employs the narrative forms with profound ethical connotations that, together with the content of the novel, strengthen the expression of alterity ethics in the novel. Exploring the roles played by the narrative forms in expressing alterity ethics in Atonement may fully uncover its ethical connotations as well as garner attention to the ethical dimensions of narrative arts in McEwan’s novels.

Keywords: Atonement; alterity ethics; embedded structure; shift of point of view; unreliable narration