Living death : the hand of death in five of Janet Frame's novels : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Master of Arts in English at Massey University

Abstract

Who is alive and who is dead within a literary text is the result of the discretion or point of view of the narrator. The narrator has the power to act as the hand of death to create and destroy as they write characters in or out of the novel. This process is demonstrated through the actions of individual characters. By judgments which come solely from their point of view, they are able to declare other characters dead, while they themselves remain alive. This thesis examines this theme in five of Janet Frame's novels: Owls Do Cry, The Rainbirds, Intensive Care, Daughter Buffalo and The Carpathians.