A Comparative Narratological Analysis of the Oriental Focalized in Christie’s Appointment With Death and A Caribbean Mystery

Authors : Yağmur Sönmez Demir

Pages : 238-251

Doi:10.30767/diledeara.1414596

View : 65 | Download : 61

Publication Date : 2024-03-21

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The implications of Agatha Christie’s works are multifarious; however, her texts are understudied when compared to those of her contemporaries. Much has been written about the generic qualities of her detective fiction, and the representation of women and class hierarchies in her works. However, her texts are rarely subjected to narratological analysis. Her works of detective fiction Appointment with Death (1938) and A Caribbean Mystery (1964) are set in former colonies of Britain, and through Western narrators and focal characters, Christie presents an Orientalist perspective. While the onlookers and the tellers are Westerners in these novels, the objects of their narration are oriental landscapes and people. As the image of the objects of focalization presented to readers in a literary text is constructed by the focalizers, the narrative abounds with their subjective views. By closely reading a text, a reader can gain insight into the focalizer and its relationship to the focalized. In these novels, the hegemony of the West over the East, and the Westerners’ biased perceptions are made apparent. Through a comparative narratological analysis of the focalized objects in these novels, this study aims to shed new light on how Christie’s novels lay bare the biased attitudes of Westerners towards the Oriental focalized.
Keywords : Agatha Christie, Orientalizm, Anlatıbilim, Doğulu odaklanılan