Authority through Polyvocality in The Poisonwood Bible

I explore how the structure of Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible invites the reader to accept narrators’ authority in different ways depending on their temporal situatedness. I examine how a retrospective, extradiegetic perspective contrasts with limited, homodiegetic and intradiegeitc perspectives among female narrators. I analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each approach, as well as how they shape one another. I discuss how the intersection of these voices develops the identity and enhances the authority of each narrator. Kingsolver employs polyvocality to bring female voices out of marginalization in order for readers to hear and respect their testimonies.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Williams, Emily C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Katherine S. Nash

• Polyvocality
• Feminist Narratology
• Barbara Kingsolver
• The Poisonwood Bible
• Authority
• Arts and Humanities
• English Language and Literature

Statement dc:rights

• © The Author

Identifier

https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/310

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarscompass.vcu.edu:etd-1309