Abstract
Dialogue Narration and the Theme of Society in Maria Jotuni´s Prose
My dissertation is a study on the relationship between dialogue narration and the theme of society in the prose works of early modernist Finnish author Maria Jotuni (1880–1943). Marriage, love affairs and the life stories of women characters from various societal backgrounds are the defining themes of Jotuni’s oeuvre. This study interprets Jotuni’s dialogue on marriage from within the societal context of the time of writing, regarding it as commenting on and participating in debates concerning women’s role in society. The study focuses on the short novel Arkielämää (1909) but references Jotuni’s other prose works as well. My hypothesis is that Jotuni’s dialogue narration and speech presentation can be read as a commentary on major social debates – the question of marriage and the role of women in society – ongoing in Finland during the time of writing of these texts.
The theoretical framework of the study is multidisciplinary narrative theory: cognitive, linguistic and feminist narratology and rhetorical narrative theory. In addition, I draw on concepts from sociolinguistic perspectives on spoken language, as well as previous research on dialogue narration and speech presentation. The method of the dissertation is based on the concept of descriptive poetics, grounded on a dialogical understanding of textual analysis as well as on the testing and development of the theories applied in the analysis.
The question of the role of dialogue narration as a deliberate artistic form of communication between the implied author and the reader is discussed in the second chapter of the dissertation. Drawing on rhetorical narrative theory and linguistic narratology, in this chapter I will discuss the role of dialogue narration and direct speech presentation as telling narrative modes. In chapter three, I will focus on the linguistic, narrative and textual forms of the presented speech, applying linguistic narratology and sociolinguistic concepts. This part of the study concentrates on the collective, anonymous and representative aspects of Jotuni’s dialogue narration. Chapter four studies the literary means Jotuni employs in her novel Arkielämää to portray the contradiction between the individual mind and collective expectations. This analysis draws from the perspectives concerning mind presentation in both cognitive narratology and the tendency which describes the social and cultural construction of the fictional mind.
As the first monograph-length study on Maria Jotuni’s prose oeuvre, my dissertation provides a reading that addresses both the narrative means and the thematic aspects of this early modernist classic. By analyzing how the fictional characters talk about their choices of whom to marry or who to love, the study seeks to distinguish five defining characteristics of Jotuni’s dialogue narration. Through these linguistic, textual and narrative features, fictional speech in Jotuni’s works can be interpreted as constructing the fictional character and her motives and simultaneously depicting the normative, collective and generic ways of thinking and speaking about the question of marriage and the role of women in society. Additionally, the study demonstrates how the societal aspect of Jotuni’s prose is conveyed through narrative levels, special textual features, and the interpretative role of the reader. The study aims to broaden the theoretical discussion on dialogue narration by addressing the telling features of direct speech presentation and distinguishing the poetic features of dialogue narration. The study thus addresses the distinctive characteristics of direct speech presentation as a narrative mode. Through typographical means, the direct speech in Jotuni’s prose employs an illusion of directness. However, the presented speech simultaneously utilizes artistic and literary techniques that run counter to these conventions. The concepts, definitions and methods developed in this dissertation can be applied to studies concerning different fictional and nonfictional types of speech presentation in general.
My dissertation is a study on the relationship between dialogue narration and the theme of society in the prose works of early modernist Finnish author Maria Jotuni (1880–1943). Marriage, love affairs and the life stories of women characters from various societal backgrounds are the defining themes of Jotuni’s oeuvre. This study interprets Jotuni’s dialogue on marriage from within the societal context of the time of writing, regarding it as commenting on and participating in debates concerning women’s role in society. The study focuses on the short novel Arkielämää (1909) but references Jotuni’s other prose works as well. My hypothesis is that Jotuni’s dialogue narration and speech presentation can be read as a commentary on major social debates – the question of marriage and the role of women in society – ongoing in Finland during the time of writing of these texts.
The theoretical framework of the study is multidisciplinary narrative theory: cognitive, linguistic and feminist narratology and rhetorical narrative theory. In addition, I draw on concepts from sociolinguistic perspectives on spoken language, as well as previous research on dialogue narration and speech presentation. The method of the dissertation is based on the concept of descriptive poetics, grounded on a dialogical understanding of textual analysis as well as on the testing and development of the theories applied in the analysis.
The question of the role of dialogue narration as a deliberate artistic form of communication between the implied author and the reader is discussed in the second chapter of the dissertation. Drawing on rhetorical narrative theory and linguistic narratology, in this chapter I will discuss the role of dialogue narration and direct speech presentation as telling narrative modes. In chapter three, I will focus on the linguistic, narrative and textual forms of the presented speech, applying linguistic narratology and sociolinguistic concepts. This part of the study concentrates on the collective, anonymous and representative aspects of Jotuni’s dialogue narration. Chapter four studies the literary means Jotuni employs in her novel Arkielämää to portray the contradiction between the individual mind and collective expectations. This analysis draws from the perspectives concerning mind presentation in both cognitive narratology and the tendency which describes the social and cultural construction of the fictional mind.
As the first monograph-length study on Maria Jotuni’s prose oeuvre, my dissertation provides a reading that addresses both the narrative means and the thematic aspects of this early modernist classic. By analyzing how the fictional characters talk about their choices of whom to marry or who to love, the study seeks to distinguish five defining characteristics of Jotuni’s dialogue narration. Through these linguistic, textual and narrative features, fictional speech in Jotuni’s works can be interpreted as constructing the fictional character and her motives and simultaneously depicting the normative, collective and generic ways of thinking and speaking about the question of marriage and the role of women in society. Additionally, the study demonstrates how the societal aspect of Jotuni’s prose is conveyed through narrative levels, special textual features, and the interpretative role of the reader. The study aims to broaden the theoretical discussion on dialogue narration by addressing the telling features of direct speech presentation and distinguishing the poetic features of dialogue narration. The study thus addresses the distinctive characteristics of direct speech presentation as a narrative mode. Through typographical means, the direct speech in Jotuni’s prose employs an illusion of directness. However, the presented speech simultaneously utilizes artistic and literary techniques that run counter to these conventions. The concepts, definitions and methods developed in this dissertation can be applied to studies concerning different fictional and nonfictional types of speech presentation in general.
| Original language | Finnish |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Tampere |
| Publisher | Tampere University |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-952-03-3705-6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-952-03-3704-9 |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |
| Publication type | G4 Doctoral dissertation (monograph) |
Publication series
| Name | Tampere University Dissertations - Tampereen yliopiston väitöskirjat |
|---|---|
| Volume | 1139 |
| ISSN (Print) | 2489-9860 |
| ISSN (Electronic) | 2490-0028 |