Written on the Body (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Jeanette Winterson
- First Published: 1992
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Picaresque
- Time of Work: The late twentieth century
- Setting: London and Yorkshire, England
- Genres: Long fiction, Psychological fiction, Picaresque fiction
- Subjects: Memory, Homosexuality or homosexuals, Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Twentieth century, Self, Marriage, Betrayal, Doctors, Obsession, England or English people, Cancer, Adultery, Death or dying, Loyalty, London, 1990’s, Life and death, Diseases
- Locales: London, England, Oxford, England, Yorkshire, England
Characters Discussed
The narrator, unnamed and of unspecified gender. Significantly a professional translator, the narrator also acts as sole interpreter, through whose perspective all other characters and events are viewed. The character of the narrator is unfolded through revelations of his/her romantic and sexual exploits, which are relayed in retrospective meditations alternating among despair, cynicism, humorous self-mockery, and romantic lyricism. Although the narrator often is flippant and cynical in recalling past loves, the context within which these are related is a...
[The entire page is 859 words long]
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