Nelly Dean -- The Unreliable Narrator in Wuthering Heights Abstract Nelly Dean is the main narrator of Wuthering Heights。 Her narration is often regarded as reliable because she was not only the eyewitness of the events, but also a faithful housekeeper in the story。 Nevertheless, her distinctive personality and subjective attitudes towards different characters in the story as well as her utterances and deeds arouse readers’ suspicion towards the reliability of her narration。 This thesis consists of three parts。 The first part is the introduction, which introduces the plot of the novel and current studies about the reliability of the narrator Nelly Dean; the main body of the thesis includes three chapters: Chapter One explores the unreliability caused by Nelly Dean’s multiple roles in the novel; Chapter Two takes the view from her personalities; Chapter Three discusses Nelly’s attitudes towards different character; the third part is the conclusion that Nelly lacks the qualities necessary for her to be a reliable narrator。 The thesis aims to approach the novel by examining reliability of its main narrator。74242

Keyword: Nelly Dean；unreliable narrator；multiple roles；unique personality；attitudes 

呼啸山庄中的不可靠叙述者耐莉·丁恩

摘  要 丁耐莉是《呼啸山庄》的主要叙述者。由于她是事件的目击者，又是忠实的管家，她的叙述被一些评论家认为十分可靠。但是,她独特的个性和对不同人物的主观态度以及她的话语和行为使她的叙述可靠性值得怀疑。 论文分为三部分。第一部分是引言,主要介绍了小说的情节和当前对叙述者丁耐莉可靠性的研究。第二部分是主体,包括三个章节:第一章主要探讨了丁耐莉在小说中的多重角色体现出来的不可靠性。第二章将从她的个性进行研究。第三章探讨了耐莉对人物的不同态度。第三部分是结论,耐莉缺乏必要的素质使之成为一个可靠的叙述者。本文旨在从主要叙述者的角度出发更好地了解这部小说，同时证明其不可靠性。

毕业论文关键词：耐莉·丁恩； 不可靠叙述者； 多重角色； 独特人格； 态度

Contents

1。 Introduction 1

1。1 The Plot 1

1。2 Current studies 1

1。3 My research question 2

2。 Chapter One  The unreliability of Nelly Dean’s multiple roles in the novel 4

2。1 The narrative method and Nelly Dean’s role outside the main plot as a narrator 4

2。2 Promotion of status----Nelly Dean’s roles in the story 6

2。2。1 Nelly Dean’s role as a servant at Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange 6

2。2。2 Nelly Dean’s role as an adviser to Catherine and Isabella 8

2。2。3 Nelly Dean’s role as a nursemaid of young Cathy 9

3。 Chapter Two  The unreliability of Nelly’s unique personality towards different characters。 11

3。1 Nelly has a feeling of imagined equality 11

3。 2 Nelly is a jealous and disloyal servant 11

3。3 Nelly is a self-righteous manipulator but likes shirking responsibility 12

4。 Chapter Three   The unreliability of Nelly’s attitudes towards different characters。