『제철공장에서의 삶』 - 중산계급 여성 화자의 역할

Life in the Iron Mills: The Role of Middle Class Narrator

&nbsp;&nbsp;This paper analyses the role of the narrator in Life in the Iron Mills(1861). The class issue is very important in this novella, which is called the first work to deal with the working class in the American literary history. It is critical to understand the characteristics of this &quot;middle-class&quot; &quot;female&quot; narrator to get a better understanding of the issue. In this novella, the main narrative is the story of the two working class people, Hugh and Deborah. To tell readers the story, Davis created a narrator and a listener(or listeners) who are middle class people. Thanks to their presence and the story frame, readers are presented with the views and ideologies of middle or high class Americans about lower class people, as well as the miserable state of the working class in 1860&quot;s.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;The narrator is very critical and poignant in depicting high or middle class Americans when showing us what typical middle-class Americans say and how they act. This was possible because she was from the same class, which she was very familiar with. On the other hand, she has some limits in presenting working class people. The working class life is described only as dirty, ignorant and full of crimes. She doesn&quot;t relate the working class life to positive traits like adherence to real life and the fulfilling of true value of labor. She presents labor as something to get over to live a meaningful life.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;In the story the worker-artist Hugh Wolfe doesn&quot;t seem to be a type of the working class but an exception of it. In some sense he is a projection of a female artist who is also unprivileged in the society. The author is sympathetic to him when she describes his despair as an artist. But she shows us him to be rather cold and unfeeling, in which he is contrasted with Deborah, the heroine. Davis seems to approve her power of sympathy and affection.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;When showing Deborah&quot;s emotions and values, the narrator reveals her middle class sensitivity. It is also notable that Davis created a realistic and healthy type of working class woman rather than conventional one, which is one of Davis&quot;s great achievements.<BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;In a sense, this story is not about the working class itself, but about the way in which the middle class people react to working class people. Davis is honest and realistic in that matter. She shows the middle class people as they are and that becomes her self-assessment. That is one of the reasons why Life in the Iron Mills is a great work.