Individuals in Narrative Worlds: An Ontological Perspective

The role of second-person narration in representing mental states in Sylvia Plath's Smith Journal

“…It can also be compared, though to a lesser extent, to self address second person texts in Fludernik's (1995) terms. Margolin (1990) suggests that the transferred SPN that can be indicative of inner-split or self-alienation however, what I am attempting to demonstrate is that not all transferred SPNs project a strong sense of inner-split.…”

“…The ambiguity partly stems from the variety of functions the second person pronoun serves in the English language -its precise referent depends on context, and is not necessarily specific (Quirk et al 1985). Second person narratives play with precisely this multifunctionality (Margolin 1990;Fludernik 1994b;Richardson, 2006) 5 . Empathy is evoked by the function of direct address, with the reader in the position of assumed addressee.…”

“…Empathy is evoked by the function of direct address, with the reader in the position of assumed addressee. In this sense, reader empathy is evoked by all second person narratives so long as the descriptions, actions and attitudes of the you protagonist do not clash dramatically with those of the reader (Margolin, 1990;Phelan, 1994).…”

“…Firstly, one can tentatively assume that, as a private journal, the Smith Journal was not written for any audience other than the self 4 -a later self perhaps. Secondly, as both Margolin (1990) and Fludernik (1994a) point out, the mere presence of you invokes an addressee and makes this addressee co-referential with the protagonist (when you refers to the protagonist). This is not to say that the presence of you automatically addresses the protagonist in the same way as a question or an order using you would.…”

“…As such, the Smith Journal can be compared to Margolin's (1990) displaced or transferred SPN where "a speaker could thus speak to and of him or herself in the second person, thereby creating a situation of internal dialogue or selfcommunication" (1990: 428). It can also be compared, though to a lesser extent, to self address second person texts in Fludernik's (1995) terms.…”